mellow

[mel-oh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mellow ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, mel·low·er, mel·low·est.

soft, sweet, and full-flavored from ripeness, as fruit.

well-matured, as wines.

soft and rich, as sound, tones, color, or light.

made gentle and compassionate by age or maturity; softened.

friable or loamy, as soil.

mildly and pleasantly intoxicated or high.

pleasantly agreeable; free from tension, discord, etc.: a mellow neighborhood.

affably relaxed; easygoing; genial: a mellow teacher who is very popular with her students.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become mellow.

noun

Slang. a state, atmosphere, or mood of ease and gentle relaxation.

Verb Phrases

mellow out, Slang.

to become detached from worry, strife, stress, etc.; relax: After final exams let's go down to the beach and mellow out.
to make more relaxed, agreeable, workable, etc.; soften or smooth: Chopin really mellows me out when I'm feeling tense.

Origin of mellow

1400–50; late Middle English mel(o)we, alteration (perhaps by dissimilation, in phrase meruw fruit) of Middle English meruw, Old English meru soft

Related formsmel·low·ly, adverbmel·low·ness, nouno·ver·mel·low, adjectiveo·ver·mel·low·ly, adverbo·ver·mel·low·ness, nounun·mel·low, adjectiveun·mel·lowed, adjective

Synonyms for mellow

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mellow ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See ripe. 9. develop, mature, improve.

Antonyms for mellow

1. immature, raw, green. 3. harsh.

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

Related Words for mellow

savory, sweet, soft, delicate, soothing, sweeten, soften, perfect, full, developed, smooth, cultured, matured, seasoned, rounded, aged, perfected, develop, season, age

Examples from the Web for mellow

Contemporary Examples of mellow

The following bright and mellow Monday, Uriguen cradles the new child.
Idaho Woman Who Gave Birth on Highway: ‘I Had to Pull My Pants Down to Get the Baby Out’
Dale Eisinger
July 10, 2014
Muhammad Ali in Excelsis by Peter Richmond from GQ, April 1998 He is in mellow middle age now.
The Stacks: The True Greatness of Muhammad Ali
Peter Richmond
February 23, 2014
His first wife, Sarah Loewen, recalled him as being “mellow.”
Terry Lee Loewen, the Mellow Kansas Man Who Dreamed of Jihad
Michael Daly
December 16, 2013
As his longtime friend Bishop Desmond Tutu once told Sky News, “he needed that time in prison to mellow.”
Anger at the Heart of Nelson Mandela’s Violent Struggle
Christopher Dickey
December 6, 2013
Can you put "mellow" on the label, or just give the chemical content?
Meet Mark Kleiman, the Man Who Will Be Washington State’s Pot Czar
Abby Haglage
March 21, 2013

Historical Examples of mellow

Dick turned to the window, and stared at the mellow evening sky.
Viviette
William J. Locke
All her share of the blarney of Ireland began to roll from the mellow tip of her tongue.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
Thou hast a fair, round, mellow voice; let us have a touch of it.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle
It struck Madden to propose salving the dock while the crowd was mellow.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
Her voice when she spoke was mellow and slow, with a nervous vibration of apology.
Stories of a Western Town
Octave Thanet

British Dictionary definitions for mellow

mellow

adjective

(esp of fruits) full-flavoured; sweet; ripe

(esp of wines) well-matured

(esp of colours or sounds) soft or rich

kind-hearted, esp through maturity or old age

genial, as through the effects of alcohol

(of soil) soft and loamy

verb

to make or become mellow; soften; mature

(foll by out) to become calm and relaxed or (esp of a drug) to have a calming or relaxing effect on (someone)

Derived Formsmellowly, adverbmellowness, noun

Word Origin for mellow

C15: perhaps from Old English meru soft (as through ripeness)

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 mellow

adj.

mid-15c., melwe "soft, sweet, juicy" (of ripe fruit), perhaps related to melowe, variant of mele "ground grain" (see meal (2)), influenced by Middle English merow "soft, tender," from Old English mearu. Meaning "slightly drunk" is from 1680s. Mellow yellow "banana peel smoked in an effort to get high" is from 1967. Related: Mellowly; mellowness.

1570s, from mellow (adj.). Related: Mellowed; mellowing.