All 3 Uses of
sullen
in
Things Fall Apart
- The moon must be preparing to rise, its sullenness over.
p. 105.6sullenness = being unhappy and withdrawn
- When the moon rose late in the night, people said it was refusing food, as a sullen husband refuses his wife's food when they have quarrelled.
p. 105.7 *sullen = unhappy
- The six men remained sullen and silent and the Commissioner left them for a while.
p. 194.8sullen = unhappy and withdrawn
Definitions:
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(1)
(sullen as in: a sullen mood) being unhappy (and often withdrawn)
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(2)
(sullen as in: a sullen sky) darkened by clouds; or the color of a gloomy sky
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(3)
(sullen as in: sullen heat) unpleasant
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Sullen can also be used figuratively. For example, "A sullen economic landscape" is one that does not look hopeful.