| English Dictionary |
DOUR
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does dour mean?
• DOUR (adjective)
The adjective DOUR has 3 senses:
1. stubbornly unyielding
2. harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
3. showing a brooding ill humor
Familiarity information: DOUR used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: dourest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Stubbornly unyielding
Synonyms:
dogged; dour; persistent; pertinacious; tenacious; unyielding
Context example:
men tenacious of opinion
Similar:
obstinate; stubborn; unregenerate (tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
Synonyms:
dour; forbidding; grim
Context example:
undoubtedly the grimmest part of him was his iron claw
Similar:
unpleasant (offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Showing a brooding ill humor
Synonyms:
dark; dour; glowering; glum; moody; morose; saturnine; sour; sullen
Context example:
a sullen crowd
Similar:
ill-natured (having an irritable and unpleasant disposition)
Context examples
Your partner, in love, marriage, or business, seems to be in a dour mood, which won’t help matters.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
He held my friend’s card in his hand, and he looked up with no very pleased expression upon his dour features.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"It's impossible to awaken a man who is pretending to be asleep." (Native American proverb, Navajo)
"If a poor man ate it, they would say it was because of his stupidity." (Arabic proverb)
"The fox can lose his fur but not his cunning." (Corsican proverb)