All 5 Uses of
sullen
in
The Road, by McCarthy
- They stood watching the pale gray flakes sift down out of the sullen murk.
sullen = gloomy (with little sunlight)
- Beyond the edge of the fields the sullen haze hung over earth and sky alike.
*sullen = gloomy (dark and unpleasant looking)
- A tall gantry crane against the sullen sky.
sullen = gloomy (without much sunshine)
- The open sky beyond where in the distance the sullen sea lagged and shifted.
sullen = darkened by clouds
- Scrawny, sullen, bearded, filthy.†
*
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(sullen as in: a sullen mood) being unhappy (and often withdrawn)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) 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.