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melancholy

melancholy

20 4.9
A deep, long-lasting feeling of sadness
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛlənˌkɑli/
translation icon : melancolía
  • On rainy days, he often experiences a deep melancholy that makes him want to stay indoors and think.
  • melancholy and mourning
  • trope of melancholy
  • era of melancholy

But like, I feel, I feel, you know, I feel a melancholy talking about it.

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Examples

  • But she is still haunted by a profound melancholy.

  • Intimate epistles with a tinge of melancholy and regret for what was lost.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • We tend to think about melancholy as somebody being just sad, being blue.

  • Keep a sense of melancholy.

  • The gray of the sky seems to turn melancholy with the memory.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Madame has moments of melancholy.

  • There's a melancholy to his words.

  • A responsibility that filled him with melancholy and a certain apprehensive desire.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Are you one of those people that finds solace, that finds comfort in things like rainy days or melancholy music?

  • Every track on the album brimmed with unrelenting melancholy and sadness.

Synonyms

grief
vsmelancholy
443 2.1

Deep sadness after you lose someone or something important

is long lasting sadness not restricted to loss situations
depression
vsmelancholy
330 3.7

A deep feeling of sadness and loss of interest in life

is focused on prolonged gloom rather than possible clinical features
misery
vsmelancholy
310 2.8

A feeling of great unhappiness and suffering

is deep sadness but usually less focused on severe suffering
sadness
vsmelancholy
229 1.0

A feeling of being unhappy

is deeper and more long lasting than ordinary unhappiness
gloom
vsmelancholy
46 3.2

A feeling of sadness and low spirits

is an internal long lasting sorrow rather than just an atmosphere
pall
vsmelancholy
8 8.0

A sad heavy feeling that hangs over a place

is the inner long lasting sadness rather than a surrounding atmosphere
melancholia
vsmelancholy
4 9.1

A deep lasting feeling of sadness without a clear reason

is the same deep long lasting feeling of gloom
deep sorrow
vsmelancholy
4 3.7

A very strong feeling of sadness after a great loss

is lasting gloom rather than a sudden intense grief
despondency
vsmelancholy
4 8.3

A strong feeling of sadness and loss of hope after something bad

is enduring sadness itself rather than sadness tied to hopelessness
somberness
vsmelancholy
  • US
1 6.5

A serious, sad mood that feels quiet and heavy

is more about deep persistent inner gloom rather than appearance
tristesse
vsmelancholy
1 9.9

A deep feeling of sadness and quiet sorrow

is the same long lasting gloom described more generally
mournfulness
vsmelancholy
1 6.5

A deep, quiet feeling or look of sadness

is the long lasting internal gloom rather than external appearance
gloominess
vsmelancholy
1 3.4

A feeling of sadness and little hope felt by people or in a place

is an inner lasting sadness rather than a general gloomy mood
Weltschmerz
vsmelancholy
1 9.9

A deep sadness about the suffering and unfairness in the world

is the same deep gloom but without tying it to world evils
heavyheartedness
vsmelancholy
7.7

A feeling of deep sadness and loss

is similar but focuses on the general long lasting gloom
sorrowfulness
vsmelancholy
6.3

A deep feeling of sadness about a loss

is the same long lasting gloom rather than grief from loss
glumness
vsmelancholy
6.6

A quiet feeling of sadness and low spirits

is deeper and more prolonged than a simple low mood
broodiness
vsmelancholy
7.9

A deep, quiet mood of sadness or serious thought

is the deeper long lasting sadness rather than thoughtful gloom
cheerlessness
vsmelancholy
6.5

A feeling of sadness and no hope

is more deeply felt and longer lasting than mere gloominess
downheartedness
vsmelancholy
6.8

A feeling of being sad and having little hope

is deeper and more persistent than a temporary low spirit
downness
vsmelancholy
7.4

A feeling of being sad or low

is a sustained deep gloom rather than a general low mood
lowness
vsmelancholy
5.8

A time when someone feels sad and without energy

is the more intense long lasting form of that low feeling

Antonyms

970 1.0

A feeling of pleasure and being satisfied

joy
793 1.0

A strong feeling of great happiness

Compounds

A plant from northern Europe with long pointed leaves and one reddish-purple flower head

How Sad

despair
210 3.5
depression
330 3.7
melancholy
20 4.9
sadness
229 1.0

Surface Forms

melancholy singular
melancholies plural

Etymology

Melancholy now means a deep, long sadness. The word comes from Greek melas 'black' and chole 'bile', since people once believed that having too much 'black bile' made you gloomy, which is why the word means deep sadness today.