saturnine
sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.
suffering from lead poisoning, as a person.
due to absorption of lead, as bodily disorders.
Origin of saturnine
1Other words from saturnine
- sat·ur·nine·ly, adverb
- sat·ur·nine·ness, sat·ur·nin·i·ty [sat-er-nin-i-tee], /ˌsæt ərˈnɪn ɪ ti/, noun
Words Nearby saturnine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use saturnine in a sentence
He was a slim saturnine-faced man with cigaret-ash stain on a coat lapel.
The dark, saturnine stranger had shrunk away into the background of his life, and no longer seemed of importance to him.
The Everlasting Arms | Joseph HockingI saw him as he strode through the little village, looking neither to right nor left, saturnine of countenance.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterAnd by the door stood Billy, watching them all like an evil spirit, with a leer of saturnine malice on his evil face.
Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. FarrarThe driver, a lean saturnine man who seemed to be forever chewing gum, began to prepare coffee.
Security | Poul William Anderson
British Dictionary definitions for saturnine
/ (ˈsætəˌnaɪn) /
having a gloomy temperament; taciturn
archaic
of or relating to lead
having or symptomatic of lead poisoning
Origin of saturnine
1Derived forms of saturnine
- saturninely, adverb
- saturninity (ˌsætəˈnɪnɪtɪ), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse