Sulky describes someone who's quietly pouting or showing displeasure through moody silence. When you're sulky, you're not throwing a tantrum or yelling. You're withdrawing into grumpy silence, often with crossed arms and a scowl.

Picture a student who didn't get chosen for the lead role in the school play and now sits alone at lunch, refusing to talk to anyone or join in activities they normally enjoy. That's being sulky. Or imagine your friend pouting silently in the backseat during a family trip because they wanted to go somewhere else. They're not arguing anymore. They're just radiating disappointment and refusing to cheer up.

Being sulky is different from being genuinely sad or upset about something serious. It usually involves a sense of wounded pride or disappointment over something relatively small, combined with a refusal to move past it. When someone acts sulky, they want others to notice their unhappiness but won't directly say what's wrong.

The word sulk can also be used as a verb: “Stop sulking and come play with us.” While everyone feels sulky sometimes, staying that way rarely helps. Most people find that sulky behavior pushes friends away rather than fixing whatever caused the disappointment in the first place.