1. A state of mind or emotion.
2. A pervading impression of an observer: the somber mood of the painting.
3. An incidence of sulking or angry behavior.
4. Inclination; disposition.

[Middle English mod, from Old English mōd, disposition.]

SYNONYMS   mood, humor, temper. These nouns refer to a temporary state of mind or feeling. Mood is the most inclusive: "I was in no mood to laugh and talk with strangers" (Mary Shelley). Humor often implies a state of mind resulting from one's characteristic disposition or temperament: "All which had been done . . . was the effect not of humor, but of system" (Edmund Burke). Temper most often refers to irritability or intense anger: "The nation was in such a temper that the smallest spark might raise a flame" (Thomas Macaulay).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.