What does surliness mean?
Surliness means behaving or speaking in an unpleasant, unfriendly, and bad-tempered way. It usually describes a manner rather than a deliberate insult: a curt reply, an irritated expression, or a generally forbidding attitude can all be described as surliness. The word is mildly negative and more formal than simple descriptions such as “being grumpy.” In British and American English, surliness is used in broadly similar ways, although it can suggest that someone's unfriendliness is conspicuous or persistent. It is useful when discussing character, social interactions, and the effect that tone or demeanor has on others.
nounSurliness is an unpleasant or unfriendly manner marked by bad temper and a tendency to sound harsh or unfriendly.
- An unpleasant, unfriendly, or bad-tempered manner.
"Her surliness made the morning difficult for everyone in the office."
"He met her question with surliness and left the room."
"The report was careful not to mistake fatigue for surliness."
Rare in ordinary use, but the regular plural is surlinesses.
"The novel portrays a succession of sulks and surlinesses."
Surliness is the noun for the moment when a merely curt answer becomes unmistakably bad-tempered.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of surliness
Surliness is formed from the adjective surly by adding the noun-forming suffix -ness, which turns a quality or state into a name for that quality. The adjective surly itself reflects the older idea of being sullen or sour in manner. The formation belongs to the productive English pattern in which -ness creates an abstract noun from an adjective.
How surliness is actually used
Usually mildly negative and somewhat formal; it is commonly used to describe a person's manner or tone rather than a specific action.
Easily confused with surliness
Surliness describes a person's manner, while surly is the adjective describing someone who behaves in that way.