sulky

Imagine a child who does not get the toy they want. They might become sulky: quiet, bad-tempered, and unwilling to be cheerful. It is more than just feeling sad. It suggests hurt feelings mixed with resentment. A sulky mood often shows up as pouting, silence, or refusing to join in.

The word is most often used for people, especially when they withdraw because they feel disappointed, ignored, or treated unfairly. You can sometimes use it for things like weather or a look on someone's face if they seem gloomy or heavy with bad feeling. There is also a separate noun sense, "a sulky," which means a light carriage or racing cart for one person. So when someone sits in silence with a dark mood and does not want to engage, sulky is often the right word.

To be sulky means to be bad-tempered, resentful, and quietly unhappy, often showing this by withdrawing, pouting, or refusing to speak much. It is more than simply being sad or upset; it usually suggests that someone feels disappointed, offended, or unfairly treated and is letting that feeling show through their mood. For example: "After losing the game, he sat in the corner, sulky and refusing to speak."

The word often carries a sense of stubbornness. A sulky person is not just unhappy; they are also unwilling to be friendly, open, or cooperative. That is why the word is especially useful for moods that feel closed off rather than openly angry. It is common for children, but adults can be sulky too after an argument, a disappointment, or any moment when they feel slighted.

You can describe people as sulky ("She gave me a sulky look"), and you can also use it for expressions, tones, or even weather when they seem gloomy or heavy with displeasure. For instance, "The grey sky had a sulky cast" suggests that the weather itself seemed to share that dark, brooding mood.

There is also a separate noun meaning: a sulky is a light two-wheeled vehicle for one person, especially a racing cart pulled by a horse. That sense is less common in everyday conversation than the adjective, but it is still a standard use of the word.

Overall, sulky describes a quiet, sullen kind of bad temper. If someone seems withdrawn, moody, and unwilling to cheer up or join in, they may well be feeling sulky.