1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the usual glum waiting room at the tax collector's office a cold, glum day
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
feeling unhappiness
how can you be glum after such a great day?
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pouting
given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability
a chronically glum and pouting child
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of glum
The Hustle Not everything is glum, of course.
—
Mark Dent, HubSpot, 7 Nov. 2025
It’s been glum at the box office with fewer breakouts as the industry struggles to lift grosses from 2024 levels.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
Fiery press conferences, frustration over a lack of signings, and a glum touchline demeanour paint a worrying picture.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
The footage shows Juniper wearing a brown dress and looking glum while her sisters giggle around her.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for glum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glum
Adjective
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Her family later learned that on April 23, 2021 — the day Parker found his aunt in a bleak mood — Dee had an angry confrontation over financial issues with two employees of the trucking company.—
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Some of Tarr’s most memorable scenes feature landscapes, often bleak and despairing settings of decaying Hungarian towns, punctuated with close-ups of characters’ faces.—
Adjective
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In Democratic cities, people demand 38 meetings and three dozen environmental assessments before tearing down a crack den to build a nursery for sad orphans.—
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Although there are infinitely many happy numbers there are also infinitely many sad ones.—
Adjective
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With so many comedy writers on the bill, the Broder tribute was no somber affair.—
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As is tradition, all the women were dressed in black ensembles to mark the somber occasion, which commemorates members of the military from Britain and the Commonwealth who have died in battle.—
Adjective
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Countries such as the Netherlands and Canada that passed similar bills have gone on to expand this type of legislation to allow doctors to give lethal medication to the depressed and other people with mental illnesses.—
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Yes, our political leaders have given some of us reason to be resentful, cynical and even depressed.—
Adjective
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Some of the consequences of owing your body sleep are readily apparent, like feeling drowsy, irritable, or brain-foggy, or catching seemingly every virus.—
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Accompanying Rayner through these daily adventures were the irritable duck Chelveston (named after his English bomber base) and the gentle dog puppet Cuddly Dudley.—
Adjective
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The patient thriller finds Agnes lonely in her seedy motel, with a phone that often rings, though the person on the other end of the line never speaks.—
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Namir Smallwood stars opposite Coon as Peter, a paranoid former soldier and mysterious drifter who meets her character Agnes, a lonely waitress.—
Adjective
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This is a no-win situation because one of us will end up unhappy.—
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The automaker spent much of the year undoing decisions made by the previous CEO, Carlos Tavares, who resigned at the end of 2024, as stakeholders in the company — from dealers to union rank and file — were upset with him and unhappy with his leadership.—
Adjective
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While Nina’s 7-year-old daughter, Cece (Indiana Elle), is sullen, and her dreamboat husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), is politely cautious about the prospect of a live-in housekeeper, Nina herself seems nice enough at first, if a little intense.—
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Shane, a wholesome Canadian, anchors his national team and is drafted by the Montreal Metros, while Russian team anchor Ilya is a seemingly sullen bad boy drafted by the Boston Raiders.—
Cite this Entry
“Glum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glum. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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