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melancholiac

[ mel-uhn-koh-lee-ak ]

/ ˌmɛl ənˈkoʊ liˌæk /

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adjective

affected with melancholia.

noun

a person who is affected with melancholia.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of melancholiac

First recorded in 1860–65; melancholi(a) + -ac

Words nearby melancholiac

melammed, Melampus, melan-, melancholia, melancholia attonita, melancholiac, melancholic, melancholy, Melanchthon, melanedema, Melanesia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use melancholiac in a sentence

I dare say I am—but I do object to being made out a hopeless melancholiac!
The Travelling Companions|F. Anstey
She was as used to loneliness as a hotel melancholiac; the people they had known had drifted away to far suburbs.
The Innocents|Sinclair Lewis
A man subjected long to that soul-cramping stress, with no outlet or abatement, would have become a melancholiac.
The Tempering|Charles Neville Buck
His attitude toward them is that of the paranoiac, vindictive, rather than that of the melancholiac, humiliated.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, Vol. 56, March 1900|Various

In short, she gave them the impression that Alfred was a moping melancholiac.
Hard Cash|Charles Reade