saturnine

American  

[sat-er-nahyn] / ˈsæt ərˌnaɪn /

adjective

1. sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.

2. suffering from lead poisoning, as a person.

3. due to absorption of lead, as bodily disorders.

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saturnine British  

/ ˌsætəˈnɪnɪtɪ, ˈsætəˌnaɪn /

adjective

1. having a gloomy temperament; taciturn

2. archaic

   1. of or relating to lead

   2. having or symptomatic of lead poisoning

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Other Word Forms

• saturninely adverb
• saturnineness noun
• saturninity noun

Etymology

Origin of saturnine

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin sāturnīnus ( Saturn, -ine ¹ )

Explanation

Medieval alchemists ascribed to the planet Saturn a gloomy and slow character. When people are called saturnine, it means they are like the planet — gloomy, mean, scowling. Not exactly the life of the party. Saturnine is a word you don't hear often nowadays, though you probably know people with saturnine dispositions. The ultimate saturnine character in literature is Heathcliff — and for clarification's sake, that would be the bitter, brooding, obsessive hero of Wuthering Heights, not the lovably pudgy cat of comic-strip fame.

Example Sentences

Slatkin noted that the recording, released in 1955, didn’t sell well, probably thanks to the album cover’s saturnine painting of a composer that few would recognize.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 12, 2025

Hassan Madjooni, who plays the father, is a large, saturnine presence with a special kind of charisma.

From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2022

Whatever might come, this would not be a tenure of earth tones and lethargy and saturnine expressions.

From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2022

The saturnine lead actors – lip-biting human Kristen Stewart and neck-biting vampire Robert Pattinson – were almost unknown.

From The Guardian • Nov. 2, 2018

Hugh Hungerford was slim and saturnine, long-legged, long-faced, clad in faded finery.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin