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broodiness

broodiness

7.9
A deep, quiet mood of sadness or serious thought
  • noun
  • /ˈbruːdɪnɪs/
translation icon : melancolía
  • She often retreats into her broodiness when life feels overwhelming, lost in her own melancholic thoughts.

Examples

  • After experiencing a week of constant rain, his broodiness made it hard for him to enjoy the sunny weather.

  • It didn't take me long to learn the signs of broodiness.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • She just decided to get out of her funk this past week, and I first told you about her broodiness on September 21.

    Blog text (2)
  • Amitabh Bachchan's deep voice and broodiness immortalized him as the "angry young man" of 1970s Bollywood.

    Blog text (32)
  • The artist's broodiness inspired many of his paintings, capturing a deep, reflective mood that resonated with viewers.

Synonyms

gloom
vsbroodiness
46 3.2

A feeling of sadness and low spirits

adds an element of pensive preoccupation not present in mere atmosphere
melancholy
vsbroodiness
37 5.9

Feeling or showing deep sadness

adds thoughtful preoccupation to sadness rather than only sorrow
brooding
vsbroodiness
3 7.2

Thinking a lot about a problem in a sad way

is a deep gloomy and pensive mood rather than continuous rumination
somberness
vsbroodiness
  • US
1 6.5

A serious, sad mood that feels quiet and heavy

is more inwardly pensive and preoccupied rather than merely serious
pensiveness
vsbroodiness
7.5

A quiet state of deep, serious thinking

is a mood that pairs thoughtfulness with gloom rather than neutral thinking
gloominess
vsbroodiness
4.4

A sad, frowning look on a person's face

is instead an inward thoughtful and often gloomy mood rather than appearance

Antonyms

4 1.0

A happy mood that makes you smile and helps others feel good

A cheerful, carefree feeling that makes people relax

How Brooding

melancholy
37 5.9
moroseness
1 8.4
broodiness
7.9

Surface Forms

broodiness singular
broodinesses plural

Morphology

broodiness = broody (semi-transparent) = brood + y + ness

Derived from the adjective 'broody' meaning pensive or inclined to sit on eggs; the emotional nuance (gloomy, pensive) makes the state somewhat less directly predictable from the root for some learners.

Etymology

Broodiness comes from the word brood, which meant 'a group of young animals' and the verb 'to brood' meaning 'to sit on eggs'. A bird that broods is quiet and still, so people began to use 'brood' for being deep in thought or gloomy, and that's why broodiness can mean a pensive or gloomy mood.