Synonym Chooser

How is the word saturnine different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of saturnine are crabbed, gloomy, glum, morose, sulky, sullen, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When is crabbed a more appropriate choice than saturnine?

The synonyms crabbed and saturnine are sometimes interchangeable, but crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

In what contexts can gloomy take the place of saturnine?

The words gloomy and saturnine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

When can glum be used instead of saturnine?

While the synonyms glum and saturnine are close in meaning, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

How do morose and glum relate to one another, in the sense of saturnine?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When could sulky be used to replace saturnine?

In some situations, the words sulky and saturnine are roughly equivalent. However, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When would sullen be a good substitute for saturnine?

Although the words sullen and saturnine have much in common, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

Where would surly be a reasonable alternative to saturnine?

The words surly and saturnine can be used in similar contexts, but surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of saturnine The mood is too saturnine, the occasional nods to social criticism too stilted. Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saturnine
Adjective
  • Following his release, Yarden was met by his sister and father in a somber reunion.
    Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN, 21 Feb. 2025
  • The image of Kurdi, dead and face down in the sand, soon became a somber meme—one that, for a while, helped garner widespread sympathy and financial support for refugees landing by the thousands on Greece’s shores.
    Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Stimulants can also worsen depressive symptoms.1 In addition to SSRIs, other classes of antidepressants can also interact with Adderall.
    Ayesha Gulzar, Verywell Health, 4 Feb. 2025
  • My problems began during the winter of 2023, when dingy weather and a depressive fit spurred me to sign up for a half-marathon.
    Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The picture looks bleak in the U.S. and in France the company is entering receivership.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2025
  • The tiny graves at one end of the orphanage compound are a bleak reminder of what a future without USAID might look like for the children.
    Nicholas Komu, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Without robust funding, some labs will simply go dark.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2025
  • From Walgreens and Red Lobster to Big Lots and Family Dollar, hundreds of retail locations went dark as part of an ongoing, years-long trend oft attributed to the ongoing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevalence of online shopping.
    Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Bill’s smarm has calcified into a kind of mad obsession; Hal is a starkly lonely and cowardly man.
    Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2025
  • New research suggests people tend to be lonelier in young adulthood and late life.
    Christina Caron, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Whether the Nationals pitching staff can hold up, healthy and effective in an incredibly difficult division, is another pressing question — with a depressing answer: probably not — but at least the bats will be worth watching.
    The Athletic MLB Staff, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
  • Listen to this article Super Bowl parties are on the rise this year thanks to the need to decompress from a most depressing start to 2025, along with the rising cost of packages at bars and restaurants.
    Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • In video after video, young people complained about missing their high school graduations and senior proms, of the desolate college campuses that welcomed them and the increasingly precarious economy that waited for them on the other side.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
  • The work follows two soldiers from opposing nations who are stationed at a shared barrack on a desolate border.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • This was the kind of odd, even morbid artifact that SNL has accumulated in spades over the years—and the 50th-anniversary celebration could have benefited from digging up more of them.
    Esther Zuckerman, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Get the Recipe Funeral Sandwiches Despite the morbid name, these snack sandwiches are a staple at more occasions than just Southern funerals.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 2 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Saturnine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saturnine. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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