Nearby Words
n-kol-ee
noun
1.
a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.
2.
sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.
3.
Archaic.
a.
the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.
b.
black bile.
adjective
4.
affected with, characterized by, or showing melancholy; mournful; depressed: a melancholy mood.
5.
causing melancholy or sadness; saddening: a melancholy occasion.
6.
soberly thoughtful; pensive.
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Melancholy
is a GRE word you need to know.
So is misanthrope. Does it mean:
| a person who dislikes other people |
| craving or consuming large quantities of food; exceedingly eager or avid |
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English melancholie < Late Latin melancholia < Greek melancholía condition of having black bile, equivalent to melan- melan- + chol(ḗ) bile + -ia -ia
1275–1325; Middle English melancholie < Late Latin melancholia < Greek melancholía condition of having black bile, equivalent to melan- melan- + chol(ḗ) bile + -ia -ia
Related forms
mel·an·chol·i·ly, adverb
mel·an·chol·i·ness, noun
un·mel·an·chol·y, adjective
Synonyms
1. sadness, dejection, despondency. 2. seriousness. 4. gloomy, despondent, blue, dispirited, sorrowful, dismal, doleful, glum, downcast. 6. serious.
1. sadness, dejection, despondency. 2. seriousness. 4. gloomy, despondent, blue, dispirited, sorrowful, dismal, doleful, glum, downcast. 6. serious.
Antonyms
1. cheer, happiness. 5. happy.
1. cheer, happiness. 5. happy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To melancholy
Example Sentences
- It seemed to be one of the saddest places on earth, not the worst just melancholy.
- Amid the melancholy, there is a glimmer of resilience and a hope that feels hard-won.
- Next week is our last full week together before I head back, and we all are melancholy.
Collins
World English Dictionary
| melancholy (ˈmɛlənkəlɪ) | |
| —n , pl -cholies | |
| 1. | a constitutional tendency to gloominess or depression |
| 2. | a sad thoughtful state of mind; pensiveness |
| 3. | archaic |
| a. a gloomy character, thought to be caused by too much black bile | |
| b. See humour one of the four bodily humours; black bile | |
| —adj | |
| 4. | 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 | |
| 'melancholiness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
melancholy
c.1300, "condition characterized by sullenness, gloom, irritability," from O.Fr. melancholie, from L.L. melancholia, from Gk. melankholia "sadness," lit. "black bile," from melas (gen. melanos) "black" (see melanin) + khole "bile" (see Chloe).
EXPANDMedieval physiology attributed depression to excess of "black bile," a secretion of the spleen and one of the body's four "humors." Adj. sense of "sullen, gloomy" is from 1526; sense of "deplorable" (of a fact or state of things) is from 1710.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
melancholy mel·an·chol·y (měl'ən-kŏl'ē)
n.
Sadness or depression of the spirits; gloom.
Melancholia.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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