melancholy
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mel·an·chol·y
(mĕl′ən-kŏl′ē)n.
1. Sadness or depression of the spirits; gloom.
2. Pensive reflection or contemplation.
3. Archaic
a. Black bile.
b. An emotional state characterized by sullenness and outbreaks of violent anger, believed to arise from an excess of black bile.
adj.
1. Feeling, showing, or expressing depression of the spirits; sad or dejected. See Synonyms at sad.
2. Causing or tending to cause sadness or gloom: a letter with some melancholy news.
3. Pensive; thoughtful.
[Middle English malencolie, melancolie, from Old French, from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melankholiā : melās, melan-, black + kholē, bile; see ghel- in Indo-European roots.]
mel′an·chol′i·ly adv.
mel′an·chol′i·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
melancholy
(ˈmɛlənkəlɪ)n, pl -cholies
1. a constitutional tendency to gloominess or depression
2. a sad thoughtful state of mind; pensiveness
3. (Psychology) archaic
a. a gloomy character, thought to be caused by too much black bile
b. one of the four bodily humours; black bile. See humour8
adj
characterized by, causing, or expressing sadness, dejection, etc
[C14: via Old French from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melankholia, from melas black + kholē bile]
melancholily adv
ˈmelanˌcholiness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
mel•an•chol•y
(ˈmɛl ənˌkɒl i)n., pl. -chol•ies,
adj. n.
1. a gloomy state of mind; dejection.
2. thoughtfulness; pensiveness.
3.
adj. a. a condition of depression and irritability formerly attributed to an excess of black bile.
b. black bile.
4. affected with melancholy; depressed: a melancholy mood.
5. causing melancholy.
6. thoughtful; pensive.
[1275–1325; Middle English < Late Latin melancholia < Greek melancholía condition of having black bile =melan- melan- + chol(ḗ) bile + -ia -ia]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
melancholy
- elegiac - Can mean "melancholy, mournful."
- brown study - Gloomy meditation or melancholy is known as being in a brown study.
- hypochondria - First referred to the upper abdomen and the organs under the ribs (liver, gall bladder, spleen)—thought to be the source of melancholy.
- tristful - Means "full of melancholy or sadness."
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
Melancholy
an abnormal tendency toward deep melancholy.
a condition of abnormal gloom or depression, of ten of an intensity to become a form of insanity. — melancholiac, n., adj. — melancholie, n., adj.
1. black bile, one of the four bodily humors, formerly believed to be the cause of gloom, ill temper, and depression.
2. melancholia.
3. a pensive, contemplative mood.
4. Obsolete, ill temper. — melancholiac, n., adj. — melancholie, n., adj.
2. melancholia.
3. a pensive, contemplative mood.
4. Obsolete, ill temper. — melancholiac, n., adj. — melancholie, n., adj.
melancholia.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  melancholy - a feeling of thoughtful sadness sadness, unhappiness - emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being heavyheartedness - a feeling of dispirited melancholy pensiveness, brooding - persistent morbid meditation on a problem Weltschmerz, world-weariness - sadness on thinking about the evils of the world |
| 2. | melancholy - a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed depression - a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity | |
| 3. | melancholy - a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the kidneys or spleen and to cause sadness and melancholy | |
| Adj. | 1. |  melancholy - characterized by or causing or expressing sadness; "growing more melancholy every hour"; "her melancholic smile"; "we acquainted him with the melancholy truth"sad - experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness; "feeling sad because his dog had died"; "Better by far that you should forget and smile / Than that you should remember and be sad"- Christina Rossetti |
| 2. | melancholy - grave or even gloomy in character; "solemn and mournful music"; "a suit of somber black"; "a somber mood" cheerless, depressing, uncheerful - causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy; "the economic outlook is depressing"; "something cheerless about the room"; "a moody and uncheerful person"; "an uncheerful place" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
melancholy
adjective
1. sad, down, depressed, unhappy, low, blue, miserable, moody, gloomy, dismal, sombre, woeful, glum, mournful, dejected, despondent, dispirited, melancholic, downcast, lugubrious, pensive, sorrowful, disconsolate, joyless, doleful, downhearted, heavy-hearted, down in the dumps (informal), woebegone, down in the mouth, low-spirited It was at this time of day that he felt most melancholy.
sad happy, cheerful, bright, glad, lively, sunny, jolly, merry, joyous, joyful, blithe, gay, light-hearted
sad happy, cheerful, bright, glad, lively, sunny, jolly, merry, joyous, joyful, blithe, gay, light-hearted
noun
1. sadness, depression, misery, gloom, sorrow, woe, blues, unhappiness, despondency, the hump (Brit. informal), dejection, low spirits, gloominess, pensiveness He watched the process with an air of melancholy.
sadness delight, pleasure, joy, happiness, gladness
sadness delight, pleasure, joy, happiness, gladness
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
melancholy
nounA feeling or spell of dismally low spirits:
blues, dejection, depression, despondence, despondency, doldrums, dolefulness, downheartedness, dumps, dysphoria, funk, gloom, glumness, heavy-heartedness, mope (used in plural), mournfulness, sadness, unhappiness.
1. In low spirits:
blue, dejected, depressed, desolate, dispirited, down, downcast, downhearted, dull, dysphoric, gloomy, heavy-hearted, low, melancholic, sad, spiritless, tristful, unhappy, wistful.
Idiom: down at the mouth.
2. Tending to cause sadness or low spirits:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
سَوْداوي، حَزين، يُظْهِر الحُزْنكآبَه، سُوَيْداء
melancholickýmelancholie
melankolimelankolsk
búskomorbúskomorság
òunglyndi, depurîòunglyndur, dapur
憂うつ
melancholijamelancholiškas
melanholijaskumjš, grūtsirdīgs
melanchóliamelancholický
çok üzgünhüzünkederlimelânkoli
melancholy
[ˈmelənkəlɪ]A. ADJ [person, mood] → melancólico; [duty, sight] → triste
B. N → melancolía f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
melancholy
[ˈmɛlənkɒli] n → mélancolie f
an air of melancholy → un air mélancolique
The general watched the parade with an air of melancholy → Le général regardait le défilé d'un air mélancolique.
an air of melancholy → un air mélancolique
The general watched the parade with an air of melancholy → Le général regardait le défilé d'un air mélancolique.
adj
[sound, sight, picture] → mélancolique
(= unhappy) → mélancolique
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
melancholy
n → Melancholie f, → Schwermut f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
melancholy
(ˈmelənkəli) noun depression or sadness. He was overcome by a feeling of melancholy.
adjective sad; showing or causing sadness. melancholy eyes.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
melancholy
n melancolía, tristezaEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.