Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries


melancholy
- 7 dictionary resultsmel⋅an⋅chol⋅y
[mel-uh
n-kol-ee]
noun, plural -chol⋅ies, adjective –noun
| 1. | a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual or prolonged; depression. |
| 2. | sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness. |
| 3. | Archaic.
|
–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. |
Origin:
1275–1325; ME melancholie < LL melancholia < Gk melancholía condition of having black bile, equiv. to melan- melan- + chol(
) bile + -ia -ia 
1275–1325; ME melancholie < LL melancholia < Gk melancholía condition of having black bile, equiv. to melan- melan- + chol(
) bile + -ia -ia 
Related forms:
mel⋅an⋅chol⋅i⋅ly, adverb
mel⋅an⋅chol⋅i⋅ness, noun
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. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To melancholy
mel·an·chol·y (měl'ən-kŏl'ē) n.
[Middle English melancolie, from Old French, from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melankholiā : melās, melan-, black + kholē, bile; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.] mel'an·chol'i·ly adv., mel'an·chol'i·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Melancholy
Mel"an*chol*y\, n. [OE. melancolie, F. m['e]lancolie, L. melancholia, fr. Gr. ?; me`las, -anos, black + ? gall, bile. See Malice, and 1st Gall.]1. Depression of spirits; a gloomy state continuing a considerable time; deep dejection; gloominess. --Shak. 2. Great and continued depression of spirits, amounting to mental unsoundness; melancholia. 3. Pensive maditation; serious thoughtfulness. [Obs.] "Hail, divinest Melancholy !" --Milton. 4. Ill nature. [Obs.] --Chaucer.Melancholy
Mel"an*chol*y\, a. 1. Depressed in spirits; dejected; gloomy dismal. --Shak. 2. Producing great evil and grief; causing dejection; calamitous; afflictive; as, a melancholy event. 3. Somewhat deranged in mind; having the jugment impaired. [Obs.] --Bp. Reynolds. 4. Favorable to meditation; somber. A pretty, melancholy seat, well wooded and watered. --Evelin. Syn: Gloomy; sad; dispirited; low-spirited; downhearted; unhappy; hypochondriac; disconsolate; heavy, doleful; dismal; calamitous; afflictive.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : melancholy
Spanish:
melancolía,
German:
die Melancholie,
Japanese:
憂うつ
melancholy (n.)
c.1303, "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). Medieval 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Main Entry: mel·an·choly
Pronunciation: 'mel-&n-"käl-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -chol·ies
1 a : an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression b :
2 : depression or dejection of spirits —melancholy adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
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.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
>