'Surly' definitions:
Definition of 'surly'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace; "a surly waiter"; "an ugly frame of mind" [syn: surly, ugly]
Definition of 'Surly'
From: GCIDE
- Surly \Sur"ly\ (s[^u]r"l[y^]), a. [Compar. Surlier (s[^u]r"l[i^]*[~e]r); superl. Surliest.] [Probably from sir, and originally meaning, sirlike, i.e., proud. See Sir, and Like, a.]
- 1. Arrogant; haughty. [Obs.] --Cotgrave. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Gloomily morose; ill-natured, abrupt, and rude; severe; sour; crabbed; rough; sullen; gloomy; as, a surly groom; a surly dog; surly language; a surly look. "That surly spirit, melancholy." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Rough; dark; tempestuous. [1913 Webster]
- Now softened into joy the surly storm. --Thomson. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'surly'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- abrupt,
- aggressive,
- argumentative,
- bad-tempered,
- bearish,
- beastly,
- beetle-browed,
- bilious,
- black,
- black-browed,
- bluff,
- blunt,
- boorish,
- brash,
- brusque,
- cantankerous,
- cavalier,
- choleric,
- churlish,
- crabbed,
- crabby,
- cross,
- crotchety,
- crusty,
- curt,
- dark,
- dejected,
- discourteous,
- dour,
- dumpish,
- dyspeptic,
- fractious,
- frowning,
- glowering,
- glum,
- grim,
- grouchy,
- gruff,
- grum,
- grumpy,
- harsh,
- ill-humored,
- ill-mannered,
- ill-natured,
- ill-tempered,
- irritable,
- lowering,
- melancholy,
- moodish,
- moody,
- mopey,
- moping,
- mopish,
- morose,
- mumpish,
- obnoxious,
- obstreperous,
- peevish,
- quarrelsome,
- rough,
- rude,
- saturnine,
- scowling,
- severe,
- sharp,
- short,
- short-tempered,
- snappish,
- snippy,
- splenetic,
- sulky,
- sullen,
- temperamental,
- testy,
- touchy,
- truculent,
- ugly,
- uncivil,
- ungracious,
- unpleasant,
- waspish