Inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace:
— A surly waiter.

synonym: ugly.

Roget 907: malevolent, unbenevolent; unbenign; ill-disposed, ill-intentioned, ill-natured, ill-conditioned, ill-contrived; evil-minded, evil-disposed; black-browed^†.    malicious; malign, malignant; rancorous; despiteful, spiteful; mordacious, caustic, bitter, envenomed, acrimonious, virulent; unamiable, uncharitable; maleficent, venomous, grinding, galling.    harsh, disobliging; unkind, unfriendly, ungracious; inofficious^†; invidious; uncandid; churlish etc. (discourteous) 895; surly, sullen etc. 901.1. cold, cold-blooded, cold-hearted; black-hearted, hard-hearted, flint-hearted, marble-hearted, stony-hearted; hard of heart, unnatural; ruthless etc. (unmerciful) 914.1; relentless etc. (revengeful) 919.    cruel; brutal, brutish; savage, savage as a bear, savage as a tiger; ferine^†, ferocious; inhuman; barbarous, barbaric, semibarbaric, fell, untamed, tameless, truculent, incendiary; bloodthirsty etc. (murderous) 361; atrocious; bloodyminded^†.    fiendish, fiendlike^†; demoniacal; diabolic, diabolical; devilish, infernal, hellish, Satanic; Tartaran.    ... show more

Roget 895: discourteous, uncourteous^†; uncourtly^†; ill-bred, ill-mannered, ill-behaved, ill-conditioned; unbred; unmannerly, unmannered; impolite, unpolite^†; unpolished, uncivilized, ungenteel; ungentleman-like, ungentlemanly; unladylike; blackguard; vulgar etc. 851; dedecorous^†; foul-mouthed foul-spoken; abusive.    uncivil, ungracious, unceremonious; cool; pert, forward, obtrusive, impudent, rude, saucy, precocious.    repulsive; uncomplaisant^†, unaccommodating, unneighborly, ungallant; inaffable^†; ungentle, ungainly; rough, rugged, bluff, blunt, gruff; churlish, boorish, bearish; brutal, brusque; stern, harsh, austere; cavalier.    taint, sour, crabbed, sharp, short, trenchant, sarcastic, biting, doggish, caustic, virulent, bitter, acrimonious, venomous, contumelious; snarling etc. v.; surly, surly as a bear; perverse; grim, sullen etc. 901.1; peevish etc. (irascible) 901.    untactful, impolitic, undiplomatic; artless etc. 703; ... show more

Roget 901a: sullen, sulky; ill-tempered, ill-humored, ill-affected, ill-disposed; grouty [U.S.]; in an ill temper, in a bad temper, in a shocking temper, in an ill humor, in a bad humor, in a shocking humor; out of temper, out of humor; knaggy^†, torvous^†, crusty, crabbed; sour, sour as a crab; surly etc. (discourteous) 895.    moody; spleenish^†, spleenly^†; splenetic, cankered.    cross, crossgrained^†; perverse, wayward, humorsome^†; restiff^†, restive; cantankerous, intractable, exceptious^†, sinistrous^†, deaf to reason, unaccommodating, rusty, froward; cussed [U.S.].    dogged etc. (stubborn) 606.    grumpy, glum, grim, grum^†, morose, frumpish; in the sulks etc. n.; out of sorts; scowling, glowering, growling; grouchy.    peevish etc. (irascible) 901.    ... show more