sulk
pronunciation
How to pronounce sulk in British English:
UK [sʌlk]
How to pronounce sulk in American English:
US [sʌlk]
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- Noun:
- a mood or display of sullen aloofness or withdrawal
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- Verb:
- be in a huff and display one's displeasure
Word Origin
- sulk
- sulk: [18] Sulk was a back-formation from sulky [18], which in turn was derived from the now obsolete sulke ‘sluggish’ [17]. It has been plausibly suggested that this may have been descended from Old English āsolcen ‘sluggish, inactive’, an adjectival use of the past participle of āseolcan ‘be lazy or slow’. In the mid-18th century the term sulky was applied to a ‘singleseat carriage’, from the notion of the ‘standoffishness’ of a lone driver.
- sulk (v.)
- 1781, back-formation of sulky (adj.). Related: Sulked; sulking. As a noun from 1792.
Example
- 1. She stayed home alone in a sulk .
- 2. Is he gonna sulk all day ?
- 3. Jo was in a sulk upstairs .
- 4. Do not sulk when indian entrepreneurs buy your companies or the indian government buys guns or rockets from elsewhere .
- 5. It seems unlikely that cnooc will now sulk at home just because its plan to buy unocal has been thwarted .