sulk
Americanverb (used without object)
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sulks,
present (3rd person singular)
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sulked,
past participle, past
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sulking
present participle
noun
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a state or fit of sulking.
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sulks, ill-humor shown by sulking.
to be in the sulks.
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Also sulker. a person who sulks.
verb
noun
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(often plural) a state or mood of feeling resentful or sullen
he's in a sulk because he lost the game
he's got the sulks
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Also: sulker. a person who sulks
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sulksimple
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sulkssimple
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have sulkedperfect
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has sulkedperfect
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am sulkingprogressive
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are sulkingprogressive
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is sulkingprogressive
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have been sulkingperfect progressive
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has been sulkingperfect progressive
Past
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sulkedsimple
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had sulkedperfect
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was sulkingprogressive
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were sulkingprogressive
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had been sulkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sulk
First recorded in 1775–85; back formation from sulky
Explanation
When you are displeased by something and you let your gloomy mood show, you're sulking. Do you want to bake another cake, or are you going to sulk all day about the one you dropped? When you say someone sulks, the tone of the word suggests the person is overdoing it. You wouldn't accuse a widow of sulking at her husband's funeral, because she has a good reason to be sad and gloomy. Instead of sulking because you messed up your tuba solo during the concert, why not put your energy into practice? Or switch to violin.
Vocabulary lists containing sulk
Where the Red Fern Grows
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My Brother Sam is Dead
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Out of the Dust
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Rather than sulk, however, he scoured the globe, in 1992 signing three players from Russia and a fast-pitch softball player from New Zealand named Gus Leger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
She doesn’t sulk or complain or cry; she simply lives in her memories, and has a habit of wearing the gown in which she shared a last dance with her husband.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Kane said Bayern had "no time to sulk" and "would not let the defeat define our season".
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
Fin Gough and Sioned Cray, from Nantgaredig in Carmarthenshire, had to explain the definition of the word poody, meaning to sulk.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025
“It was on special,” he muttered defensively and retreated into a sulk.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
"All players want to play, it's normal, it's what makes us happy. I have team-mates who want to play too, but no one sulks," Griezmann told reporters.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025
He allows her into the family home as he sulks, and defends her presence to his irate sister: “I am not putting my donkey outside when I am sad, okay?” he says.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2023
And as he goes off and sulks at being denied, she coaxes him back.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2022
He rages and sulks; he suffers feeling rejected for reasons he can’t always control.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
“For that bit of impertinence you may polish the coal stove tomorrow. This room is the perfect place for a noisy, I might say badly spoiled, little tyrant to have his sulks in private.”
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
When I first graduated, I moved back in with my parents and sulked around because I was unemployed and without an internship lined up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
Some 17-year-olds might have sulked at the prospect of swapping the glamour of the Premier League for games against Grimsby and Peterborough.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
“I sulked for a few hours, it was kind of like a shock,” Ingram said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2023
Little Man never acted out; he never sulked or stormed off in frustration.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2022
He fidgeted and sulked, and said he couldn’t get any work done without her.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Laura and Mary will dance, when not getting in one another’s hair, or sulking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
So does not sulking when kids don’t invite you on their vacation or forget to send Mother’s Day cards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025
"Ever since I came over here she's been sulking at me training here," Ryan told BBC Radio Derby.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2024
The Mariners lost Sunday, but they weren’t sulking.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
Unfortunately, the school had no accredited sulking program and I dropped out, more despondent than ever.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
