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Definition of surly adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

surly

adjective
 
/ˈsɜːli/
 
/ˈsɜːrli/
(comparative surlier, superlative surliest)
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  1. unfriendly and rude
    • a surly youth
    Topics Personal qualitiesc2
    Oxford Collocations DictionarySurly is used with these nouns:
    • teenager
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘lordly, haughty, arrogant’): alteration of obsolete sirly (see sir, -ly).
See surly in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: surly

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