adjective
dour
DOOR
adjective
1
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."
2
Gloomy or grim.
"The film has a dour, bleak tone throughout."
How to Use Dour
Learner’s notesIn 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)
Word Forms
dourer comparative, more dour comparative, dourest superlative, most dour superlative
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The _____ receptionist barely looked up from her desk.
Etymology
From Scots dour, likely from Latin dūrus ("hard, stern").