melancholy

American  

[mel-uhn-kol-ee] / ˈmɛl ənˌkɒl i /

noun

plural

melancholies

1. a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.

   Synonyms:

   despondency, dejection, sadness

   Antonyms:

   happiness, cheer

2. sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.

   Synonyms:

   seriousness

3. Archaic.

   1. the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.

   2. black bile.

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adjective

1. affected with, characterized by, or showing melancholy; mournful; depressed.

   a melancholy mood.

   Synonyms:

   downcast, glum, doleful, dismal, sorrowful, dispirited, blue, despondent, gloomy

2. causing melancholy or sadness; saddening.

   a melancholy occasion.

   Antonyms:

   happy

3. soberly thoughtful; pensive.

   Synonyms:

   serious, serious

melancholy British  

/ ˈmɛlənˌkɒlɪlɪ, ˈmɛlənkəlɪ /

noun

1. a constitutional tendency to gloominess or depression

2. a sad thoughtful state of mind; pensiveness

3. archaic

   1. a gloomy character, thought to be caused by too much black bile

   2. one of the four bodily humours; black bile See humour

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adjective

1. characterized by, causing, or expressing sadness, dejection, etc

Other Word Forms

• melancholily adverb
• melancholiness noun
• unmelancholy adjective

Etymology

Origin of melancholy

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English melancholie, from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melancholía ”condition of having black bile,” equivalent to melan- “black” + chol(ḗ) “bile, gall” + -ia noun suffix; melan(o)-, chol-, -ia

Example Sentences

And yet for all this success, a persistent melancholy stalked the writer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

"My life is a broken roller coaster, but maybe I'm the only one to blame," they sing on the melancholy Merry Go Round.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

Cue the synthetic flute chords of “Veridis Quo,” scoring their mutual melancholy.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

Her best performance likely came in Jean-Luc Godard’s acclaimed 1963 melancholy adaptation “Contempt,” as a wife who falls out of love with her husband.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2025

In about five minutes, however, he began to get more and more quiet, and finally sank into a sort of melancholy, in which state he has remained up to now.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Related Words

• boredom
• despair
• desperation
• despondency
• ennui
• gloom
• grief
• sorrow
• wistfulness