1
: moodily or sullenly thoughtful or serious
a brooding genius
a brooding, embittered man
2
: darkly somber
a brooding landscape
a quiet, brooding atmosphere
… brooding, violent images reminiscent of … film noir …—
Tracy Hopkins
Tracy Hopkins
broodingly
adverb
a broodingly handsome actor
Gardner gazes broodingly at the camera …
—Kathleen Murphy
Kathleen Murphy
Examples of brooding in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There’s a nice yin and yang with their vocal pitches as well; IDK is a bit more brooding and smooth while Gunna is higher pitched and emotive.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 21 June 2024
Butler had no choice but to imagine what a brooding, faithful gang leader’s lieutenant might be like.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 21 June 2024
Likewise, each election (and the super brooding that comes with it) offers a chance to argue about our future and, if needed, reset our priorities.
—Travis Meier, Washington Post, 12 June 2024
Scholars had long known about Kennan’s prickly, complex personality and his tendency toward curmudgeonly brooding, but the diaries laid bare these qualities.
—Fredrik Logevall, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022
See all Example Sentences for brooding 
Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 21 June 2024
Butler had no choice but to imagine what a brooding, faithful gang leader’s lieutenant might be like.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 21 June 2024
Likewise, each election (and the super brooding that comes with it) offers a chance to argue about our future and, if needed, reset our priorities.
—Travis Meier, Washington Post, 12 June 2024
Scholars had long known about Kennan’s prickly, complex personality and his tendency toward curmudgeonly brooding, but the diaries laid bare these qualities.
—Fredrik Logevall, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022
See all Example Sentences for brooding
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brooding.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Brooding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brooding. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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