Home / Dictionary / Moody

Moody Common

Moody has 6 different meanings across 3 categories:

Noun · Adjective · Proper Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

United States tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the 1920s and 1930s (1905-1998)

"Billie Jean King is not moody; she was a champion tennis player, but that definition actually refers to Helen Wills Moody."

2

United States evangelist (1837-1899)

"The moody was a prominent American evangelist who preached to large crowds during his lifetime."

Adjective
1

showing a brooding ill humor

"a dark scowl"

"the proverbially dour New England Puritan"

"a glum, hopeless shrug"

"he sat in moody silence"

"a morose and unsociable manner"

"a saturnine, almost misanthropic young genius"

"a sour temper"

"a sullen crowd"

2

subject to sharply varying moods

"a temperamental opera singer"

3

Given to sudden or frequent changes of mind; temperamental.

"The moody teenager stormed out of the room after suddenly changing his mind about going to the movies."

In plain English: Moody means having emotions that change quickly and often without much reason.

"He was too moody to go out with us tonight."

Usage: Use moody to describe someone whose emotions shift rapidly and unpredictably, often resulting in visible irritability or sadness. This term specifically highlights a person's tendency toward being easily upset rather than simply having bad feelings on a single occasion.

Proper Noun
1

A surname​.

"The Moody family gathered at their old homestead on the coast."

Example Sentences
"He was too moody to go out with us tonight." adj
"She gave him a moody look before turning away silently." adj
"The sky turned moody and gray just before the storm began." adj
"He has been feeling quite moody since he lost his job last week." adj
See Also
peevish moodiness sulky temperamental brooding gloomy stolen depressed
Related Terms

Origin

The word moody originally meant "brave" in Old English before its meaning shifted to describe someone with changing emotions. Although it is now formed by combining the words mood and y, this modern spelling was created later rather than being inherited directly from the ancient term for courage.

Rhyming Words
ody body dody kody cody tody fody jody mody woody roody doody hoody grody brody goody foody embody parody bloody
Compare
Moody vs