moody

moody — adjective

1. Someone who is moody has emotions that shift quickly and for reasons that are no

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Someone who is moody has emotions that shift quickly and for reasons that are not always clear, so they may seem angry, sad, or irritated one moment and calm or happy the next.

Example

Yan can be moody in the mornings until he has had his first coffee.

be moody + time expression (in the mornings)

The teacher described Élise as a moody student who rarely smiled in class.

described as + moody (passive construction)

Common collocations
  • be/get/become moody
  • moody teenager / adolescent / child
  • moody silence / behaviour / expression
  • feel moody
  • a bit / rather / very moody
Synonyms
  • temperamental

    emphasises that the behaviour is part of someone's natural character; slightly more formal

  • unpredictable

    broader meaning — covers behaviour, decisions, or reactions beyond just mood

  • irritable

    focuses on becoming annoyed easily, not necessarily shifting between different emotions

  • sulky

    narrower — specifically silent and bad-tempered, often in a childish way

Antonyms
  • even-tempered

    describes someone whose emotions stay steady and calm

  • cheerful

    consistently happy and positive, the opposite of the unhappy aspect of moody

Grammar Patterns

be/look/feel moody

moody + noun (e.g. moody teenager, moody behaviour)

become/get moody + time/reason

Usage Note

Frequently used with be, become, or feel to describe a person's temporary or lasting disposition. Attributive use before nouns (a moody teenager, moody silence) is common. The word often carries a mildly negative judgment about someone's emotional stability.

Common Mistakes

She is moody today' (when meaning she is simply sad).
She is feeling sad today.
'moody' describes quick emotional shifts, not just sadness.
The weather is moody' (meaning gloomy).
The weather is gloomy.
for weather or atmosphere, use sense 2; sense 1 only applies to living beings.

2. If a place, piece of music, photograph, or film is moody, it creates a strong em

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

If a place, piece of music, photograph, or film is moody, it creates a strong emotional feeling, especially one that is sad, mysterious, dark, or slightly haunting.

Example

The old lighthouse had a moody atmosphere that matched the stormy sky outside.

collocation: moody atmosphere

Sirin took a moody photograph of the fog-covered bridge just after sunrise.

Common collocations
  • moody lighting / atmosphere / music / photograph
  • moody sky / landscape / scenery
  • moody film / scene / painting
  • look / feel moody (of places, art)
Synonyms
  • gloomy

    similar but more negative, with less sense of mystery or beauty

  • sombre

    more formal, suggests seriousness or sadness without the mysterious quality

  • atmospheric

    broader — can describe any strong atmosphere, including positive ones

  • brooding

    suggests deep, dark thoughtfulness; often used for skies, landscapes, or artistic works

Antonyms
  • bright

    full of light, opposite of the dark quality in moody atmospheres

  • cheerful

    happy and uplifting, opposite of the sad or mysterious aspect

Grammar Patterns

moody + noun (e.g. moody lighting, moody music, moody atmosphere)

Usage Note

Used attributively before nouns describing visual art, places, light, music, or sound. Does not describe people — compare with sense 1, which is about a person's changeable temperament rather than the atmosphere they create.

Common Mistakes

The painting looks moody' (meaning the painting creates a gloomy feeling).
Correct
this is precisely sense 2. No mistake here; this is a valid use.
Idioms

Dwight Lyman Moody

idiom

Dwight Lyman (1837–1899), an American Christian evangelist who preached to large crowds across the United States and Britain, and founded the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. This entry is a biographical name reference, not a phrase idiom — the spelling matches the adjective 'moody' by coincidence.

Dwight Lyman Moody began his work as an evangelist after moving to Chicago in the 1850s.

Word family

  • mood
    nounB1
  • moodiness
    nounB2
  • moodily
    adverbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These words all describe someone whose emotional state is difficult to deal with, but they focus on different aspects. Moody (B1) is the most general — it means emotions shift quickly, often for no clear reason. Temperamental (B2) suggests that this changeability is a deep part of a person's character, almost like a machine that works only sometimes; artists and creative people are often called temperamental. Irritable (B2) is narrower — it means easily annoyed or angered by small things, without the idea of quick shifts between emotions. Sulky (B2) is more specific still: a sulky person is silently bad-tempered, often in a childish or resentful way that shows on their face. Unpredictable (B1) is the broadest of the four and can apply to behaviour, weather, or outcomes — not just moods. For example: 'Joon is moody in the mornings but fine by lunchtime' (quick emotional shift). 'The lead singer was temperamental and often cancelled rehearsals' (deep-rooted sensitivity). 'The waiter was irritable after a long shift' (easily annoyed). 'The child sat in a sulky silence after being told no' (silent resentment).

temperamentalirritable ↗sulkyunpredictable ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • moody person
  • moody teenager
  • moody atmosphere
  • moody lighting
  • moody music
  • moody behaviour

Adverbs

  • extremely moody
  • rather moody
  • a bit moody
  • occasionally moody
  • increasingly moody

Phrases

  • in a moody state
  • prone to being moody

Prepositions

  • moody about (e.g. moody about the decision)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

Comes from Old English 'mōdig', meaning 'brave, proud, or high-spirited', which came from 'mōd' (mind, spirit, courage — the root of modern 'mood'). Over centuries the meaning shifted from 'brave' to 'angry' to 'easily changing in mood'. The sense describing atmosphere (modern sense 2) developed in the 1800s as people began using the word for art, lighting, and places that evoke a strong emotion.