brooding

adjective

brood·​ing ˈbrü-diŋ How to pronounce brooding (audio)
1
: moodily or sullenly thoughtful or serious
a brooding genius
a brooding, embittered man
2
: darkly somber
a brooding landscape
a quiet, brooding atmosphere
brooding, violent images reminiscent of … film noir …Tracy Hopkins
broodingly adverb
a broodingly handsome actor
Gardner gazes broodingly at the camera … Kathleen Murphy

Examples of brooding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Leonard partly attributes this shift in our views of romance, this fatigue around brooding, emotionally unavailable characters, to the post-#MeToo moment. Lorena O’Neil, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024 Sober, brooding and as Canneseries director Albin Lewi notes,, a meticulous reconstruction of a milestone moment when a push for democracy was halted in its tracks. John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for brooding 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brooding.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brooding was in 1818

Dictionary Entries Near brooding

Cite this Entry

“Brooding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brooding. Accessed 29 May. 2024.

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