as in pouting
given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability
our teenage daughter turns sulky if we refuse to let her borrow the car
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sulky
No sniggering jokes now about princely flings and sulky princesses and body doubles.
—
Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
The sulky postwar formation that Moyn depicts owes a great deal to Christian brooding on original sin, as well as to Sigmund Freud’s then increasingly popular conception of the self as impulsive and destructive.
—Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2023
Austin Butler’s version of Elvis is a sulky pretty boy with smokey-eye makeup, loud silk shirts, and lips the color and texture of bubblegum.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 24 June 2022
Lestat wastes no time in breaking the guy's neck and offering him up for his sulky boyfriend, but in the end, Louis chooses a cat.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for sulky
Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
The sulky postwar formation that Moyn depicts owes a great deal to Christian brooding on original sin, as well as to Sigmund Freud’s then increasingly popular conception of the self as impulsive and destructive.
—Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2023
Austin Butler’s version of Elvis is a sulky pretty boy with smokey-eye makeup, loud silk shirts, and lips the color and texture of bubblegum.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 24 June 2022
Lestat wastes no time in breaking the guy's neck and offering him up for his sulky boyfriend, but in the end, Louis chooses a cat.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for sulky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sulky
Adjective
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Cold exposure is particularly helpful for those who have irritable skin through the constriction of blood vessels, alleviating swelling and flushes.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
-
The elderly single mom, played with an irritable, bone-deep bitterness by Irish actor Fiona Shaw, has spent the past few years paralyzed by an illness no one can diagnose.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Madison, whose full name is Mikaela Madison Rosberg, first rose to fame for the role of a sullen teenager in the FX comedy Better Things.—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz,
StyleCaster,
3 Mar. 2025
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Then Chloe pointed out her boyfriend across the room ... revealing none other than a sullen Greg eating at their table, alone.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
EW.com,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Nico no longer viewed Luka as a gift, but an enabled, pouty headcase who takes his talent for granted, won’t change, and will pay for it sooner rather than later.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Feb. 2025
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Instead, Schrader recasts his old American Gigolo — Gere’s wisps of white hair, unshaven beard, and wheelchair mostly recall a pouty version of elderly Henry Miller in Warren Beatty’s Reds.—
Armond White,
National Review,
25 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Sulky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sulky. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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