SATURNINE Synonyms: 115 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

saturnine

adjective

ˈsa-tər-ˌnīn

Definition of saturnine next

as in somber

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the men awaiting interrogation by the police shared a saturnine silence

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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

After running a somber ad in the 2024 Super Bowl aimed at fighting hate and bigotry, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism tapped Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady in a spot that had the celebrities squaring off against one another, ticking off reasons why people don’t like one another.

— Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Feb. 2025
But as their friendship blossoms and becomes complicated by Dennis’s attraction to Roman, the story transforms, too, revealing one twist after another, each more somber yet strangely delightful than the previous.

— David Sims, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025