dour

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“
He was "dour, and sour, and ill to bide," it was said of him, even by some among his friends.

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Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Marked by sternness or harshness; forbidding: a dour, self-sacrificing life.
  2. adjective Silently ill-humored; gloomy: the proverbially dour New England Puritan.
  3. adjective Sternly obstinate; unyielding: a dour determination.
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Examples (50)

  • It is a "dour," stupid bird, and it is extraordinary how elastic some people's consciences are when they wish to sell a parrot or a horse. —  MY STRANGE PETS AND Other Memories of Country Life
  • It is vicious as well as dour, and, over and above, is treacherous. —  MY STRANGE PETS AND Other Memories of Country Life
  • She gave both men a quick glare she hoped they would interpret to mean she wanted them to quit looking so dour, then turned back to the little boy. —  Garwood, Julie - Prince Charming
  • Yes, the name of the game sounds a tad dour - and honestly, the premise of the game - keeping a cute but poor Haitian family of 5 alive and well for 4 years - is a tad depressing. —  green LA girl
  • Instead, it's coming from the current dour oracle of the Web 2.0 economy, Gawker Media founder Nick Denton, who is fond of joining the fray as a commenter on the various blogs in his blog network. —  Adrian Monck
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

somber ·  surly ·  glum ·  morose ·  impassive ·  stolid ·  grim ·  austere ·  dejected ·  disapprove ·  unsmiling ·  inscrutable
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, possibly from Middle Irish dúr, probably from Latin dūrus, hard; see deru- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Scots form of dure, adjective
 

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/dur/
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