Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

surly

/ˈsɝli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.85 in modern English

Syllables
surly
IPA
/ˈsɝli/
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly.

adj

Threatening, menacing, gloomy.

adj

Lordly, arrogant, supercilious.

Obsolete

adv

In an arrogant or supercilious manner.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

16th-century alteration of sirly, from sir + -ly.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈsɝli/
  • British English: /ˈsɜːli/

Usage

Inflected Forms

surlier (comparative) surliest (superlative)

Derived Forms

surlily surling unsurly surliness

Synonyms

ugly

Rhymes With

early shirley curly hurley pearly burley girlie burly gurley curley worley turley

Questions

How do you pronounce surly?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɝli/.
What does surly mean?
Irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly.
Where does surly come from?
16th-century alteration of sirly, from sir + -ly.

How to pronounce surly

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “surly”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɝli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “surly”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “surly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.