Standard Lemma guide

glum

adj · noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɡlʌm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌm
  • CMU ARPABET: G L AH1 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Despondent; moody; sullen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cheerless, comfortless, bleak, dark, morose, depressing, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, doleful, dolesome, drear, drearisome, dreary, dreich, forlorn, gayless, gray, gloomsome, gloomy, grim, joyless, lack-laughter, lugubrious, melancholy, mirthless, miserable, no joke, saturnine, solemn, somber, sombre, spiritless, sullen, sunless, uncheerful, uncheery, unhappy, unmerry, wintry, woeful, glum, grouchy, gruff, ill-tempered, ill-humored, moody, sulky

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

sullenness

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To look sullen; to be of a sour countenance; to be glum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

moody and melancholic

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

showing a brooding ill humor- Bruce Bliven

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a dark scowl
  • the proverbially dour New England Puritan
  • a glum, hopeless shrug
  • he sat in moody silence
  • a morose and unsociable manner
  • a saturnine, almost misanthropic young genius
  • a sour temper
  • a sullen crowd

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dark, dour, glowering, moody, morose, saturnine, sour, sullen

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Probably from Middle Low German glum (“glum”), related to German dialectal glumm (“gloomy, troubled, turbid”). More at gloomy.

From Middle English glomen, glommen, glomben, gloumben (“to frown, look sullen”), from *glom (“gloom”). More at gloom. The noun is from Middle English glome, from the verb.

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: навъсен (navǎsen) — despondent
  • Bulgarian: намръщен (namrǎšten) — despondent
  • Czech: zasmušilý — despondent
  • Czech: zachmuřený — despondent
  • Czech: rozmrzelý — despondent
  • Dutch: sip — despondent
  • Finnish: synkkä — despondent
  • Finnish: vakava — despondent
  • Finnish: juro — despondent
  • French: morose — despondent
  • German: bedrückt — despondent
  • German: niedergeschlagen — despondent
  • German: verdrießlich — despondent
  • German: trist — despondent
  • German: mürrisch — despondent
  • German: deprimiert — despondent
  • German: trostlos — despondent
  • German: dunkel — despondent
  • German: missmutig — despondent
  • Hungarian: rosszkedvű — despondent
  • Hungarian: mogorva — despondent
  • Hungarian: komor — despondent
  • Hungarian: morcos — despondent
  • Hungarian: morózus — despondent
  • Hungarian: savanyú — despondent
  • Hungarian: borús — despondent
  • Irish: púiceach — despondent
  • Irish: púiciúil — despondent
  • Korean: 침울(沈鬱)하다 (chimulhada) — despondent
  • Māori: poururu — despondent
  • Norman: ponseux — despondent
  • Norwegian: tungsindig — despondent
  • Russian: печальный (pečalʹnyj) — despondent
  • Scottish Gaelic: gruamach — despondent
  • Spanish: decaído — despondent
  • Spanish: taciturno — despondent
  • Spanish: morugo — despondent
  • Spanish: abatido — despondent
  • Swedish: dyster — despondent
  • Swedish: trumpen — despondent