morose
I wonder what is the cause of his moroseness and ill-humour.
You might mistake fashionable moroseness for depression, but that's your problem.
You can't help wondering if some of her moroseness derives from the ever-present fact of physical pain.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Sadness and regret
aw
be/weigh on your conscienceidiom
bitter
black dog
breastbeating
cry
doom and gloom
feel badidiom
gloominess
glumness
groan
guilt
melancholia
prick someone's conscienceidiom
regretful
regretfully
remorse
remorseful
repentant
wretchedness

Examples of moroseness

moroseness
In fact, their mood of sullenness departed as by magic, and a smile swept over their massive mood of moroseness, and glory swept the skies.
From Project Gutenberg
The steadiness of their poise and their silence in the presence of strangers is not due to moroseness or the absence of active thought.
From Project Gutenberg
But the loss of the money increased (were that possible) his moroseness.
From Project Gutenberg
Having once imbued my hands in innocent blood, my cruelty and moroseness knew no bounds.
From Project Gutenberg
And those who knew him testify that he was a mild old man, and serious indeed, but without moroseness.
From Project Gutenberg
His awkwardness slowly changed back again into moroseness.
From Project Gutenberg
The manager, who was displeased by the manufacturer's silent moroseness, did what he could also to bring his two charges together.
From Project Gutenberg
That minister had always been my secret enemy, though he outwardly caressed me more than was usual to the moroseness of his nature.
From Project Gutenberg
There were moments when his moroseness became threatening.
From Project Gutenberg
On several occasions he had noticed signs of a preoccupation, of suppressed excitement, of silence and moroseness.
From Project Gutenberg
Her cheerfulness gave way to sadness and moroseness.
From Project Gutenberg
Good cheer was much more natural to her than moroseness.
From Project Gutenberg
Then they were decorous and solemn to the verge of moroseness.
From Project Gutenberg
The general expression of the countenance is melancholy, and exhibits a strange combination of moroseness and gentleness.
From Project Gutenberg
Characterized by or manifesting, sourness, peevishness, or moroseness; harsh; cross; cynical; -- applied to feelings, disposition, or manners.
From Project Gutenberg
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.