dourness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The dourness of “The Complex” is, I think, supposed to indicate the book’s serious intentions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

The cast is fine, but there’s a dispiriting dourness to the film.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2023

To his exasperation, the audience loved it all - his dourness, his deadpan answers, his low-key frustration at being trapped in a 21st Century Kafkaesque nightmare.

From BBC • May 5, 2021

Though the Bible readings through this period warn against performing dourness for the sake of impressing people with your piety, the church itself goes stark: rough, burlaplike vestments instead of shiny finery; no “alleluias.”

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2019

Mr. Hartsfield softened for an instant, his watery eyes glistening, but then he snapped back to his usual dourness.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam