mood

Pluralmoods

1. 1
   nouncountable

   An emotional or mental state at a particular time; one's composure.

   His mood shifted as the bad news sank in.

   Her calm mood helped settle the nervous students.

   Similartemperament, spirit, composure, humor

   Note

   The oldest sense, and the one closest to its roots: Old English mōd meant "mind," and in poetry also "heart, spirit, courage." Older writing could use the plural for a person's shifting tempers, as when Tennyson writes in 1850, "I envy not in any moods." Today the word is neutral and takes its color from an adjective, such as a bad mood or a calm mood, unlike the sulking sense.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A prevalent atmosphere, attitude, or feeling shared across a place or group of people.

   The national mood soured as prices kept rising.

   Festive moods filled the streets during the celebration.

   Similarvibe

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A sullen, gloomy, or angry state of mind; a bad mood.

   She stomped off in a mood after losing the argument.

   His dark moods could last for days without explanation.

   Similartemper, huff

   Note

   Here the word carries its gloom without help. In a mood, with no adjective at all, already means sulking or cross: Rath "was clearly in a mood," and only Jay could fix it. The idiom can name its target with with, as in he's in a mood with me, which points to a grievance against someone rather than general low spirits. Huff, pet and temper are its close neighbors.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A state of mind that makes someone receptive or willing to do a particular thing.

   He's in the mood for a long walk after dinner.

   Are you in the mood to dance, or would you rather sit?

   Note

   This sense lives in one construction: in the mood, with the definite article, followed by for and a noun or -ing form, or by to and a verb. It is at home in the negative, as in I'm not in the mood. An adjective can name the action instead, as in in a donating mood. Keep the article straight, because in a mood on its own tips into the sulking sense.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   The emotional quality or atmosphere conveyed by a piece of music, a book, a painting, or any other artwork.

   The novel's somber mood lingers long after the final page.

   Minor chords create a melancholy mood throughout the piece.

   Similaratmosphere, tone, feel, feeling

6. 6
   nounslangcountable

   A familiar, relatable feeling, experience, or thing that captures how one feels.

   Honestly, ordering pizza instead of cooking is a whole mood.

   Her caption about hating Mondays was a real mood.

   Note

   Online slang turned the feeling into the thing that matches it. A pair of shoes, a film or a situation can be "a mood" when it captures how the speaker feels. A.O. Scott, writing in 2019, calls it an idiom borrowed "from the extremely online." It usually follows is and is intensified as a whole mood or the cruder a whole-ass mood. Big mood works too.

7. 7
   interjectionslang

   Said or written to show that the speaker finds something very relatable.

   'I'm skipping the gym to watch movies.' 'Honestly, mood.'

   He texted back a single word after my rant: 'Mood.'

   Similarsame

   Note

   Stripped to a single word, the slang noun becomes a reply. Someone says they are exhausted, and the answer is simply "Mood." It also serves as a caption or hashtag, #mood, under a post, and big mood makes it stronger. It belongs to texting and social media. Because it signals agreement, it should answer something: posting "Mood" under something unrelated draws complaints.

8. 8
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A verb form showing how its clause relates to the speaker's wish, intent, or assertion about reality.

   The subjunctive mood appears in phrases like 'if I were rich.'

   Many languages mark mood differently for commands and statements.

   Similarmode

   Note

   A grammarian's word with a separate history: it is an alteration of mode, from Latin modus, and is unrelated to the Old English word behind the emotional sense. Mode survives as a synonym. Grammars of English contrast the indicative for statements, the imperative for commands and the subjunctive for wishes and hypotheticals. The indicative is the one met most often.

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