adjective

dour

DOOR

Dour (adjective) means Stern, unfriendly, and serious in manner or expression. Example: “The dour receptionist barely looked up from her desk.”

adjective

Stern, unfriendly, and serious in manner or expression.

"The dour receptionist barely looked up from her desk."

"His dour expression made it hard to tell if he was joking."

Gloomy or grim.

"The film has a dour, bleak tone throughout."

How to use dour

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishGrim, stern, and not at all cheerful.

Common mistake

Pronounced to rhyme with "poor" or "hour" depending on dialect — not like "dower" with a hard "ow."

Common pairings

dour expression dour mood dour Scot (stereotype)

dourer comparative, more dour comparative, dourest superlative, most dour superlative

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “dour” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Can you complete this real example?

The _____ receptionist barely looked up from her desk.

From Scots dour, likely from Latin dūrus ("hard, stern").

Origin: Latin

our hour four your pour sour tour flour scour odour amour colour

What does “dour” mean?

The word “dour” means stern, unfriendly, and serious in manner or expression. In plain terms, grim, stern, and not at all cheerful.

How do you pronounce “dour”?

“Dour” is pronounced DOOR (/ˈdʊɹ/ in IPA).

How do you use “dour” in a sentence?

Here is “dour” used in a sentence: “The dour receptionist barely looked up from her desk.”

What part of speech is “dour”?

“Dour” is an adjective.

Where does the word “dour” come from?

The word “dour” comes from Latin. From Scots dour, likely from Latin dūrus ("hard, stern").

How many meanings does “dour” have?

“Dour” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: stern, unfriendly, and serious in manner or expression.