melancholy

1 of 2

noun

mel·​an·​choly ˈme-lən-ˌkä-lē How to pronounce melancholy (audio)
plural melancholies
Synonyms of melancholynext
1
a
: depression of spirits : dejection
great outbursts of creativity alternate with feelings of extreme melancholy—Brenda Lane Richardson
Mitchell sounds utterly alone in her melancholy, turning the sadness into tender art.—Rolling Stone
b
: a pensive mood
a fine romantic kind of a melancholy on the fading of the year—Richard Holmes
One white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair, and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy.—Arthur Conan Doyle
2
a
: melancholia sense 1
b
archaic : an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression
c
archaic : black bile

melancholy

2 of 2

adjective

1
a
: suggestive or expressive of sadness or depression of mind or spirit
sang in a melancholy voice
b
: causing or tending to cause sadness or depression of mind or spirit : dismal
a melancholy thought
2
a
: depressed in spirits : dejected, sad
b
: pensive

Synonyms

Noun

Adjective

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of melancholy in a Sentence

Noun the bleakness of winter sometimes gives me cause for melancholy Adjective A melancholy lesson of advancing years is the realization that you can't make old friends. —Christopher Hitchens, Harper's, June 1999
He has a snarled mop of spiky black hair, melancholy circles around his eyes, and a tiny Cupid's-bow mouth. —Pauline Kael, New Yorker, 17 Dec. 1990
I see your mournful party in my mind's eye under every varying circumstance of the day;  … the efforts to talk, the frequent summons to melancholy orders and cares, and poor Edward, restless in misery, going from one room to the other … —Jane Austen, letter, 24 Oct. 1808
She was in a melancholy mood. He became quiet and melancholy as the hours slowly passed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Cosmically Beautiful Sadness of SOPHIE’s Posthumous Album The producer’s absence lends a poignant melancholy to even the most upbeat tracks. —James Factora, Them, 27 Sep. 2024 The exes play phone tag before Mindy informs a melancholy Gabriel that Emily is relocating to Rome. —Samantha Stutsman, Peoplemag, 17 Sep. 2024
Adjective
The museum's permanent exhibits feature his paintings, prints and sketches, delving into themes of illness, melancholy, and nature. —Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024 The melancholy nature of the narrative is elevated by moody and evocative surroundings that effortlessly coax high onscreen emotion from the wayward characters. —Holly Jones, Variety, 19 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for melancholy 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'melancholy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English malencolie, melancolie "black bile, preponderance or excess of black bile, state (as anger or sorrow) produced by excessive black bile," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French malencolie, melencolie, borrowed from Late Latin melancholia (Medieval Latin malencolia, by association with the prefix mal- mal-), borrowed from Greek melancholía, from melan-, athematic variant of melano- melano- + cholḗ "bile" + -ia -ia entry 1 — more at gall entry 1

Adjective

Middle English malincolie, melancolie, from attributive use of malencolie melancholy entry 1, probably reinforced by construal of -ly as an adjective suffix

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2c

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of melancholy was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near melancholy

melancholize

melancholy

melancholy thistle

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Melancholy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melancholy. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

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Kids Definition

melancholy

1 of 2 noun
mel·​an·​choly ˈmel-ən-ˌkäl-ē How to pronounce melancholy (audio)
plural melancholies
: a sad or gloomy mood or condition

melancholy

2 of 2 adjective
1
: depressed in spirits : dejected, sad
2
: seriously thoughtful
3
: causing sadness : dismal
a melancholy thought
Etymology

Noun

Middle English malencolie "melancholy," from early French melancolie (same meaning), from Latin melancholia (same meaning), from Greek melancholia "melancholy," literally, "black bile," from melan-, melas "black" and cholē "bile"; so called from the ancient belief that the condition was caused by an excess of what was thought to be black bile in the body — related to choleric, melanin see Word History at humor

Medical Definition

melancholy

noun
mel·​an·​choly ˈmel-ən-ˌkäl-ē How to pronounce melancholy (audio)
plural melancholies
1
: depression or dejection of spirits
also : melancholia
2
archaic
a
: an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression
b
: black bile
melancholy adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on melancholy

Nglish: Translation of melancholy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of melancholy for Arabic Speakers

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