melancholic

[ mel-uh n-kol-ik ]

/ ˌmɛl ənˈkɒl ɪk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR melancholic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

disposed to or affected with melancholy; gloomy.

of, relating to, or affected with melancholia.

Nearby words

melampus, melan-, melancholia, melancholia attonita, melancholiac, melancholic, melancholy, melanchthon, melanedema, melanesia, melanesian

Origin of melancholic

1350–1400; Middle English melancolik < Latin melancholicus < Greek melancholikós. See melancholy, -ic

Related forms

mel·an·chol·i·cal·ly, adverbun·mel·an·chol·ic, adjectiveun·mel·an·chol·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for melancholic

Taylor had recently broken off an engagement with the actress Neva Gerber, who complained of his melancholic moods.
How to Get Away With a Hollywood Murder|Tim Teeman|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For us, this is Louis C.K. and his crabby, melancholic, and profanely funny half-hour comedy.
Why Is Louis C.K. So Funny? He Uses Humor as a Moral Compass.|Andrew Romano|May 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This ungainly man soon percolated in my own melancholic imagination.
Making Lincoln Sexy: Jerome Charyn’s Fictional President|Tom LeClair|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Maintaining tight eye contact, the butlers pluck out audience members for a gripping, melancholic dance.
A Mad Feast Is the Next 'Sleep No More'|Nina Strochlic|February 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At first blush, it brings to mind the sultry, melancholic croon of Lana Del Rey.
Meet Lorde, the 16-Year-Old Singer Poised to Take Over Pop Music|Marlow Stern|July 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In many cases the refusal of food is associated with the patient's melancholic delusions.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
But this condition gave rise to increasing nervous irritation and melancholic depression.
The Sexual Question|August Forel
I mind how I combated his melancholy, for he was most melancholic.
The Path of the King|John Buchan
The gnomes are covetous, and of the melancholic temperament.
Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry|William Butler Yeats
This turned in his later years into a melancholic temperament.
The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 1|Elizabeth Bisland

British Dictionary definitions for melancholic

melancholic

/ (ˌmɛlənˈkɒlɪk) /

adjective

relating to or suffering from melancholy or melancholia

noun

a person who suffers from melancholia

Derived Forms

melancholically, adverb

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

Medicine definitions for melancholic

melancholic

[ mĕl′ən-kŏl′ĭk ]

adj.

Affected with or being subject to melancholy.

Of or relating to melancholia.