saturnine
1
9.9
- adjective
- /ˈsætərˌnaɪn/
- Formal
:
saturnino
- His saturnine demeanor stood out among the cheerful crowd, hinting at his troubled thoughts.
- saturnine man
- saturnine face
Examples
-
The process is fraught with free-floating anxiety and weighted with saturnine regret.
Blog text (19) -
His long, saturnine face had a zealot's eyes and a taskmaster's stern mouth.
Fiction book (1994) -
She was saturnine, removed, doing the smiling job she is paid to do, and that's about it.
Blog text (23) -
Gromyko pauses for the photos: grim, dark-haired, saturnine.
Fiction book (2000) -
Having a generally saturnine disposition doesn't often lead to being thought the 'life of the party', but then I've been told by enough people that I possess hootness that I can believe plenty aren't brought down by my spewings.
Blog text (13) -
The saturnine expression on his face made it clear that he was not in the mood for conversation.
-
Despite the lively party, she remained saturnine, quietly watching everyone around her.
Synonyms
377
1.0
Feeling gloomy and sad
52
4.6
Serious and sad in feeling or mood
46
3.7
Showing an unfriendly, resentful mood
26
4.7
Being quiet and bad-tempered, showing that a person is upset
23
4.1
Looking or feeling sad and quiet
15
7.9
Being quiet and unhappy and showing little interest in others
12
7.6
Serious and unfriendly in a way that looks gloomy
8
6.2
Having a quiet, serious mood that feels dark
A dark, angry look that seems threatening
Showing a serious, gloomy mood like an old ceremony
Antonyms
How Gloomy
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Saturnine comes from the Roman god and planet Saturn, which people long ago thought made people 'slow' and sad, and the same name survives in Saturday. So, to be saturnine is to be 'gloomy' or 'sullen'.