Having a sulky or annoyed expression, or tending to pout (push out your lips when unhappy or angry).
From 'pout' (from Middle English 'pouten,' possibly from Scandinavian languages), plus '-y' to make an adjective. The original meaning described a pouting fish, then expanded to describe people's expressions.
Fish pout as a stress response, pushing out their mouths to look bigger and scarier—humans picked up the word 'pout' from describing fish and applied it to the grumpy expression people make when upset.
Pouty became gendered feminine through 20th-century advertising and media portrayals, associating emotional expressiveness with women as negative/childish.
Use to describe the facial expression or mood state without assuming gender; avoid as descriptor of character in ways that feminize emotion as weakness.
["sullen","displeased","morose","withdrawn"]
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