1
: stern, harsh
a dour expression on her face
2
: obstinate, unyielding
an insistent hunger for learning and a dour … determination to achieve itWalter Moberly
3
: gloomy, sullen
a dour disposition
dourly adverb
dourness noun

Examples of dour in a Sentence

She had a dour expression on her face. the dour mood of the crowd
Recent Examples on the Web Scotland’s weather may be wet, windy and grey and Murray may have been this dour to some, but his personality was a streetfighter in a tough suburb of Glasgow. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024 Eighteen people are running, and at times, their images seem to blend together: a sea of older men in dark, dour suits. Ayen Deng Bior, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Mar. 2024 However, the bottom line was dour for its North America unit, as revenue plunged more than $1.4 billion, largely because of a sharp decline in Bud Light sales. Jordan Valinsky, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 The mood was much more dour in the banking industry, where New York Community Bancorp tumbled 25.9%. Zimo Zhong, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 And, though much of the season is dour in tone, some of its best twists are the product of a dark wit. Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 There, residents are musically trained by dour chapel master Perlina (Paolo Rossi), a Salieri-type figure whose unforgiving authority rather exceeds his modest talent as a composer and conductor. Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024 The larger overlap of personality, of stern consistency toward work in an almost dour way that led the greatness in their profession. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2024 The Chameleon is cool to look at (a diminutive lizard in finery worthy of the Met Gala), and Viola Davis voices her with a dour aristocratic hauteur, but all the character does, really, is to call forth her guards and summon up past villains that Po has defeated. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dour.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin durus hard — more at during

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dour was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near dour

Cite this Entry

“Dour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dour. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

dour

adjective
: looking or being stern or sullen
dourly adverb
dourness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on dour

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