adj
Meaning 1
Irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
surly
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.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsɜːli/
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General-American: /ˈsɝli/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)li
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CMU ARPABET: S ER1 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Threatening, menacing, gloomy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- The surly weather put us all in a bad mood.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Lordly, arrogant, supercilious.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Meaning 4
In an arrogant or supercilious manner.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a surly waiter
- an ugly frame of mind
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ugly
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
16th-century alteration of sirly, from sir + -ly.
Across languages
Translations
97 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: навъсен (navǎsen) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Bulgarian: нацупен (nacupen) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Catalan: malcarat — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Catalan: sorrut — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Chinese Mandarin: 粗暴 (cūbào) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Chinese Mandarin: 無禮 /无礼 (wúlǐ) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Chinese Mandarin: 乖戾 (guāilì) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Czech: nevrlý — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Czech: nepříjemný — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Czech: mrzutý — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Dutch: knorrig — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Dutch: bars — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Dutch: onbeleefd — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Esperanto: malafabla — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Finnish: hapan — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Finnish: pahantuulinen — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Finnish: töykeä — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- French: grognon — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- French: grincheux — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- French: impoli — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: mürrisch — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: unwirsch — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: missmutig — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: verdrießlich — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: griesgrämig — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: grämlich — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: ruppig — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: knurrig — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: barsch — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: unfreundlich — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: übellaunig — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- German: bärbeißig — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Irish: mosach — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Irish: bodúil — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Irish: dorrga — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Italian: scontroso — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Italian: burbero — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Māori: ngākaukawa — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Māori: tukumaru — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Occitan: ernhós — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Occitan: reganhós — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Plautdietsch: brumsch — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Portuguese: rabugento — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Romanian: posac — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Romanian: morocănos — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Russian: угрю́мый (ugrjúmyj) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Russian: серди́тый (serdítyj) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Russian: гру́бый (grúbyj) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Russian: неприве́тливый (neprivétlivyj) — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Scottish Gaelic: gruamach — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Spanish: arisco — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Spanish: brígido — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Spanish: escolimoso — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Spanish: hosco — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Spanish: fosco — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Welsh: sarrug — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Welsh: afrywiog — irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly
- Bulgarian: груб (grub) — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Bulgarian: заплашителен (zaplašitelen) — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Chinese Mandarin: 陰鬱 /阴郁 (yīnyù) — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Dutch: bedreigend — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Dutch: bars — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Dutch: mistroostig — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Finnish: uhkaava — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- French: menaçant — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- French: rude — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- French: morne — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: grob — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: düster — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: rau — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: bedrohlich — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: drohend — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: traurig — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: bedrückend — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: finster — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: trübselig — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- German: trübsinnig — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Russian: угрожа́ющий (ugrožájuščij) — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Russian: гро́зный (gróznyj) — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Scottish Gaelic: gruamach — threatening, menacing, gloomy
- Chinese Mandarin: 傲慢的 (àomàn de) — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- Dutch: arrogant — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- Dutch: bazig — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- Finnish: koppava — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- Finnish: pöyhkeä — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- French: arrogant — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- French: autoritaire — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- German: überheblich — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- German: arrogant — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- German: hochmütig — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- German: hochnäsig — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- German: herablassend — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- German: anmaßend — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- German: gebieterisch — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- Russian: надме́нный (nadménnyj) — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- Russian: спеси́вый (spesívyj) — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious
- Russian: высокоме́рный (vysokomérnyj) — (obsolete) lordly, arrogant, supercilious