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melancholic

melancholic

5 7.2
Feeling deep, quiet sadness
  • adjective
  • /ˌmɛlənˈkɑlɪk/
translation icon : melancólico
  • As she sat by the window, the melancholic rain reminded her of lost love.
  • melancholic temperament
  • melancholic art
  • melancholic gaze

And it really is, there's something so melancholic and, and bleak about, about what he puts out.

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Examples

  • I can't wait to hear it." "Well, this should be a fine, if melancholic, occasion.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • So that was a really hard, melancholic moment to say the least.

  • I can't stop being melancholic

  • Unlike classic art, avant-garde art, as I see it, has nothing melancholic about it.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Her 2008 album Everybody Knows is a haunting, melancholic compilation of her own and Cohen's songs.

    Blog text (6)
  • Fado songs, with their distinct melancholic mood and ritualized performance, helped create an original and romantic ambiance.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Consequently, I want to argue that the discipline is constitutionally fated to suffer from a quiet melancholic malaise.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Listening to the melancholic melody, he felt a profound sadness wash over him.

  • The film's melancholic tone captured the essence of longing and heartache.

Synonyms

sad
vsmelancholic
1.0

Feeling unhappy or upset because of something

is deeper and more tender than simple unhappiness
depressed
vsmelancholic
441 3.5

Feeling very sad and without hope

is sad yes but less extreme and more reflective
dark
vsmelancholic
377 1.0

Feeling gloomy and sad

is more about gentle sorrow than brooding sullenness
blue
vsmelancholic
205 2.1

Feeling sad or unhappy

is more formal and speaks to deeper, enduring sorrow
dismal
vsmelancholic
62 4.5

Making you feel sad and hopeless

describes an inner feeling of sadness rather than an effect
somber
vsmelancholic
  • US
52 4.6

Serious and sad in feeling or mood

is more about feeling sorrowful rather than only serious tone
melancholy
vsmelancholic
37 5.9

Feeling or showing deep sadness

is the adjective form for the same deep sorrow
gloomy
vsmelancholic
29 2.5

Feeling sad and without much hope

is more inward and gently sorrowful than hopeless
glum
vsmelancholic
23 4.1

Looking or feeling sad and quiet

is more about a gentle, pervasive sadness than brief mood
mournful
vsmelancholic
18 3.9

Feeling deep sadness because of a loss

is less tied to formal grieving and more to mood
morose
vsmelancholic
15 7.9

Being quiet and unhappy and showing little interest in others

is sorrowful without the angry or ill temper element
sorrowful
vsmelancholic
14 3.6

Feeling very sad because of loss or disappointment

is broader, applying to a general sad temperament
mopey
vsmelancholic
8 4.4

Feeling sad and quiet without much energy

is more deeply sad and poetic rather than listless
doleful
vsmelancholic
3 8.2

Feeling or showing deep sadness

is more inward and reflective rather than openly sorrowful
elegiac
vsmelancholic
  • Literature
2 9.1

Showing sad feelings about something lost or in the past

covers sadness in general, not only past losses
cheerless
vsmelancholic
2 5.5

Not bright or warm and making people feel sad

is personal sadness felt inwardly rather than overall atmosphere
dolorous
vsmelancholic
  • Literature
1 9.9

Feeling or showing deep sadness because of a loss

is milder and more about a lasting sad mood
heavy-hearted
vsmelancholic
1 5.4

Feeling very sad and weighed down inside

is more about a steady sad temperament rather than burden

Antonyms

1.0

Feeling pleased and content

70 1.0

Feeling or showing great happiness

How Sad

despairing
4 4.6
depressed
441 3.5
melancholic
5 7.2
sad
1.0
down
  • Informal
24 6.7

Surface Forms

melancholic positive
melancholier comparative
melancholiest superlative

Morphology

melancholic = melancholy (transparent) = melancholy + ic

The adjective is a regular derivation from the noun 'melancholy' with the productive adjectival suffix '-ic', so the relation is directly inferable.

Etymology

Melancholic is the adjective form of melancholy and comes from Greek parts melan- 'black' and chole 'bile', because people long ago thought 'black bile' made someone sad. So a melancholic mood means a deep, quiet kind of sadness.