POUTING Synonyms: 113 Similar and Opposite Words

pouting 1 of 2

adjective

as in pouty

given to or displaying a resentful silence and often irritability stayed in a pouting mood until her boyfriend apologized, though he didn't have the vaguest idea what he was apologizing for

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pouting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of pout

as in protruding

to extend outward beyond a usual point her lips pouted as she glared at him silently

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in frowning

to silently go about in a bad mood pouted and didn't say a word to anyone all morning

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pouting

Verb

Some people will probably be pouting in those debriefs. — Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026 My introduction to Peters came late last year, when Instagram’s algorithm served me a video of him wearing a baseball cap, primping and pouting for the camera. — Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026 He’s never been seen publicly pouting or seeming unhappy. — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026 At the bull riding, no one can have fun because Natalie is pouting because her fight attempt failed. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025 This was followed by a shot of them all pouting as Landon and Alabama flashed peace signs and their dad took his turn to flip off the camera. — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pouting

Adjective

The bend-over-at-your-own-risk-tight culottes with the pouty flare where no flare should ever be.

— Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 25 July 2026
Juliette later makes a stop to see Shirley, who is still being unreasonably pouty about her amnesiac friend not remembering her — and is, again, curtly dismissive of Juliette’s search for Lukas.

— Noel Murray, Vulture, 17 July 2026

Definition of pouty

Verb

At first, 17-year-old Khloe Aguiar didn’t want to climb the over 100-foot ladder protruding out of the fire truck.

— Julianna Mejia July 31, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026
With its extended, protruding proportions and structural overlays, the colorway also features a glow-in-the-dark treatment across its TPU cage.

— Riley Jones, Footwear News, 29 July 2026

Definition of protruding

Verb

This focuses readers on the all-black uniforms of the veiled pupils, who—in a long frame at the center of the page—sit between the looming, frowning teacher on the right and Marji on the left, who stands up to explain that her uncle was executed by the Islamic regime.

— Hillary Chute, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026
Woods, 50, is seen frowning in the photo, taken shortly after the legendary golfer was booked into jail on March 27 after his Land Rover rolled over in Jupiter Island, Florida.

— Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026

Definition of frowning

Adjective

Whether a balanced market can be achieved with competing cartels will be an interesting experiment in a sometimes-irritable trade relationship.

— Tim Treadgold, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Just as Depp made to exit the stage, a haunting voice came over the speaker, eerily repeating the irritable man’s name.

— Angelique Jackson, Variety, 23 July 2026

Definition of irritable

Verb

At first glance, corals present as little more than colorful rocks — piles of lobes, stalagmites, and branches poking out from the seafloor.

— Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026
Carpenter suggests applying it to vertical surfaces, or using soaked cotton balls in open glass jars (or poking holes in the lids to allow the fumes to escape).

— The Spruce, The Spruce, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of poking

Verb

As a 7-year-old, I’d entertain my father’s friends, at their weekly pickup game at a Bronx barn-house gymnasium, by imitating his game face—bottom lip jutting, eyes scowling.

— Sean Gregory, Time, 14 June 2026
Modern tiki tends to take a lighter touch, using more abstract graphics, less imagery of women and scowling gods.

— Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026

Definition of scowling

Adjective

Skillfully carrying the tale as Kimberly is Ann Morrison, marvelously placing the qualities of a bubbly when not sulky teen in the voice and body of an older woman.

— Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 25 Feb. 2026
Keep an eye out for chartreuses, browns, and bright sky blues, along with sulky mauves and beiges in a plaster finish.

— Abby Wolner, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Feb. 2026

Definition of sulky

Verb

Okegbe recommends immediately discarding any can that’s bulging, leaking, heavily rusted, or dented.

— Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 26 July 2026
An aneurysm is a weakened or bulging artery wall, and coiling is a procedure used to block blood flow to the aneurysm, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

— Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026

Definition of bulging

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“Pouting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pouting. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of pouting

adjective

verb

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