melancholic
[mel-uh n-kol-ik]
- disposed to or affected with melancholy; gloomy.
- of, relating to, or affected with melancholia.
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Origin of melancholic
1350–1400; Middle English melancolik < Latin melancholicus < Greek melancholikós. See melancholy, -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
melancholylugubriousgloomywistfulbluedowncastdownbadlowweepingatmoodyhurtinglow-downbleedingcrestfallencrummydejecteddesolatedespondentExamples from the Web for melancholic
Contemporary Examples
Taylor had recently broken off an engagement with the actress Neva Gerber, who complained of his melancholic moods.
For us, this is Louis C.K. and his crabby, melancholic, and profanely funny half-hour comedy.
This ungainly man soon percolated in my own melancholic imagination.
Maintaining tight eye contact, the butlers pluck out audience members for a gripping, melancholic dance.
At first blush, it brings to mind the sultry, melancholic croon of Lana Del Rey.
Historical Examples
The captain was a clever, melancholic man, who had no unusual grip on his crew.
FalkJoseph Conrad
This is the melancholic temperament, which does not shrink from the most profound inquiry.
Six Centuries of PaintingRandall Davies
My dear Madam, I am really getting too serious, philosophic, and melancholic.
She watched Paul growing irritable, priggish, and melancholic.
Sons and LoversDavid Herbert Lawrence
But he fretted so, got so furious suddenly, and again was melancholic.
Sons and LoversDavid Herbert Lawrence
melancholic
- relating to or suffering from melancholy or melancholia
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- a person who suffers from melancholia
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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 melancholic
adj.
late 14c., from melancholy + -ic, or else from Late Latin melancholicus, from Greek melankholikos "choleric," from melankholia "sadness" (see melancholy). As a noun, from 1580s. Earlier adjective formation was melancholian (mid-14c.), and melancholiac (mid-19c.) also was tried.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
melancholic
(mĕl′ən-kŏl′ĭk)- Affected with or being subject to melancholy.
- Of or relating to melancholia.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.