brooding
Dwelling on worries
Brooding as an adjective describes a dark, moody quality—either in atmosphere or temperament.
A brooding sky threatens storms; a brooding person seems lost in troubled or melancholic thought.
The verb brood means to dwell on dark thoughts or to sit on eggs to hatch them, and the noun brood refers to a group of offspring, especially chicks.
He sat brooding over his failed marriage.
The hen brooded her eggs in the corner of the barn.
Quietly, sadly thoughtful
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- sullenSilently bad-tempered
- moroseSullenly ill-humored
- moodyProne to sullenness
somber · gloomy · dour · wistful · dark · heavy-hearted · introspective · contemplative
Extreme in degree
- piercingPenetrating or very sharp
- sullenSilently bad-tempered
- darkAbsence of light
- hoodedHaving a fabric headpiece
glowering · staring · watchful · fixed · deep-set · unblinking · smoldering · searching
Suggesting something bad approaches
- menacingConveying threat or danger
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- threateningExpressing intent to harm
- darkAbsence of light
grim · eerie · portentous · chilling · looming · atmosphere · tension · stormy
pensive
Quietly, sadly thoughtful
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- sullenSilently bad-tempered
- moroseSullenly ill-humored
moody · somber · gloomy · dour · wistful · dark · heavy-hearted · introspective · contemplative · withdrawn
intense
Extreme in degree
hooded · glowering · staring · watchful · fixed · deep-set · unblinking · smoldering · searching · penetrating
ominous
Suggesting something bad approaches
- menacingConveying threat or danger
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- threateningExpressing intent to harm
dark · grim · eerie · portentous · chilling · looming · atmosphere · tension · stormy · shadowy
nest
Animal-built shelter for young
clutch · warmth · hen · sitting · embryo · fledgling · maternal · laying · broodiness · poultry
dwelling
Place of residence
- obsessingThinking about compulsively
- mullingDeep, slow consideration
- ponderingThinking deeply about something
fixating · overthinking · preoccupied · stewing · festering · churning · haunted · tormented · consumed · agonizing
- inner thoughtsinner monologue, inner voice, self-talk, internal dialogue, thoughts
- resentmentresentful, grudge, bitterness, rancor, spite
- thinkingthinking, reasoning, thought, ponder, contemplate
- adolescencepuberty, teenager, coming-of-age, growing up, teen
- reproductionreproduction, birth, baby, egg, sperm
- bird behaviorsflying, soaring, perching, nesting, migrating
broodingcheerful
Pleasantly bright in mood
lighthearted · carefree · happy · sunny · buoyant
broodingthoughtless
Showing no consideration
unreflective · heedless · mindless · unconcerned · oblivious
- brooding heroAngsty, introspective main character