sur·ly

(sûr′lē)

adj. sur·li·er, sur·li·est

1. Sullenly ill-humored; gruff.

2. Threatening, as of weather conditions; ominous: surly clouds filled the sky.

3. Obsolete Arrogant; domineering.

[Middle English sirly, masterful, lordly, from sir, lord; see sir.]

sur′li·ly adv.

sur′li·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

surly

(ˈsɜːlɪ)

adj, -lier or -liest

1. sullenly ill-tempered or rude

2. (Zoology) (of an animal) ill-tempered or refractory

3. dismal

4. obsolete arrogant

[C16: from obsolete sirly haughty; see sir]

ˈsurlily adv

ˈsurliness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sur•ly

(ˈsɜr li)

adj. -li•er, -li•est.

1. sullenly rude or bad-tempered.

2. unfriendly or hostile; menacingly irritable: a surly old lion.

3. dark or dismal: a surly sky.

4. Obs. lordly; arrogant.

[1560–70; sp. variant of obsolete sirly lordly = sir + -ly]

sur′li•ly, adv.

sur′li•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

surly - inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace; "a surly waiter"; "an ugly frame of mind"

ugly

ill-natured - having an irritable and unpleasant disposition

surly

adjective ill-tempered, cross, churlish, crabbed, perverse, crusty, sullen, gruff, bearish, sulky, morose, brusque, testy, grouchy (informal), curmudgeonly, ungracious, uncivil, shrewish He behaves in a surly and rude manner towards me.
happy, pleasant, sunny, cheerful, agreeable, cheery, genial, good-natured

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

surly

adjective

1. Broodingly and sullenly unhappy:

dour, gloomy, glum, moody, morose, saturnine, sour, sulky, sullen.

2. Having or showing a bad temper:

bad-tempered, cantankerous, crabbed, cranky, cross, disagreeable, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, nasty, peevish, petulant, querulous, snappish, snappy, testy, ugly, waspish.

Informal: crabby, mean.

Idiom: out of sorts.

Translations

فَظ، مُكْفَهِر المِزاج

mrzutý

grovirriteret

verdrießlich

bougon bourru grognon maussade quinteux

önugur

bieco scontrosit...scontroso

īgnsrupjš

aksi kaba ters

无礼的粗暴的

surly

[ˈsɜːlɪ] ADJ (surlier (compar) (surliest (superl))) → hosco, malhumorado
he gave me a surly answer → contestó malhumorado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

surly

[ˈsɜː^rli] adj → revêche, maussade

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

surly

adj (+er) → verdrießlich, mürrisch, missmutig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

surly

[ˈsɜːlɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) → burbero/a, scontroso/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

surly

(ˈsəːli) adjective

bad-tempered or rude.

ˈsurliness noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

'Martin!' said the old lady, calling to the surly man, out of the front window.

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John May was of a morose and surly disposition, not easily moved to anger, but having an uncommon gift of sullen, implacable hate.

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In a word, he was a surly fellow, a character perhaps you have never seen; for, indeed, no woman ever sees it exemplified but in a father, a brother, or a husband; and, though you have a father, he is not of that character.

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``You should not ease me of mine so lightly,'' muttered Gurth, whose surly honesty could not be tamed even by the pressure of immediate violence, ``had I it but in my power to give three strokes in its defence.''

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If there had been a number of babies before he took it for the most part with surly indifference, but if newly married he was nervous and then sometimes strove to allay his anxiety by getting drunk.

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"Give me back my wig!" shouted Mastro Antonio in a surly voice.

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He had a surly old face, and did not seem at all pleased to see her--but then she was displeased with his garden and wore her "quite contrary" expression, and certainly did not seem at all pleased to see him.

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Shimerda and Antonia always deferred to him, though he was often surly with them and contemptuous toward his father.

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that I had not been well broken to the check-rein, but I should soon get used to it; but he was not the man to do it, for when I was in the stable, miserable and angry, instead of being smoothed and quieted by kindness, I got only a surly word or a blow.

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The lawyer's reply was short and surly: "SIR -- If my advice had been followed, you and your anonymous letter would both be treated with the contempt which they deserve.

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When I paid him for the afternoon he was surly about it and kept looking at my field-glasses."

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Thus to the very first proposals which Boxtel made to Gryphus to filch the bulbs which Cornelius van Baerle must be supposed to conceal, if not in his breast, at least in some corner of his cell, the surly jailer had only answered by kicking Mynheer Isaac out, and setting the dog at him.

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