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atrabilious

or at·ra·bil·iar

[a-truh-bil-yuh s]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR atrabilious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

gloomy; morose; melancholy; morbid.
irritable; bad-tempered; splenetic.

RELATED WORDS

gloomy, dispirited, morose, despondent, crestfallen, glum, discouraged, disheartened, drooping, down, black, low, clouded, hurting, sagging, dampened, dashed, dragged, cantankerous, surly

Nearby words

  1. atorvastatin,
  2. atoxic,
  3. atp,
  4. atpase,
  5. atrabiliary,
  6. atracurium besylate,
  7. atrahasis,
  8. atraumatic suture,
  9. atrazine,
  10. atrek

Origin of atrabilious

1645–55; < Latin ātra bīli(s) black bile + -ous
Related formsat·ra·bil·ious·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for atrabilious

British Dictionary definitions for atrabilious

atrabilious

atrabiliar

adjective

rare irritable
Derived Formsatrabiliousness, noun

Word Origin for atrabilious

C17: from Latin ātra bīlis black bile, from āter black + bīlis bile 1
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
Word Origin and History for atrabilious

atrabilious

adj.

1650s, from Latin atra bilis, translating Greek melankholia "black bile" (see melancholy; also cf. bile). Atra is fem. of ater "black, dark, gloomy," perhaps related to root of atrocity. Related: Atrabiliousness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper