Surliness - Meaning, Definition & English Examples
Surliness is a bad-tempered or unfriendly manner, often shown through rude or grumpy behavior. It describes someone who is easily irritated and unwilling to be pleasant or cooperative.
Definition:
Bad-tempered or unfriendly behavior; a grumpy or sullen attitude.
Synonyms:
surliness, grumpiness, irritability, sullenness, churlishness
Part of Speech:
noun
Antonyms:
friendliness, cheerfulness, amiability
Common Collocations:
display surliness, habitual surliness, respond with surliness, mask of surliness, sudden surliness
Derivatives:
surly, surlier, surliest
Usage Tips:
Use "surliness" to describe someone's consistently rude or unfriendly demeanor in formal or informal contexts.
Common Phrases:
"a cloud of surliness, " "his usual surliness, " "surliness in his tone"
Etymology:
Derived from "surly," meaning arrogant or rude, originating from Middle English "sirly" (lordly).
Examples:
- 1. His constant surliness made the team uncomfortable.
- 2. She responded with unexpected surliness to the simple request.
- 3. The clerk's surliness drove customers away from the shop.
- 4. His usual cheerfulness was replaced by unexplained surliness today.