Phrase guide

brown study

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A melancholy mood accompanied by deep thought; a moody daydream.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a state of deep absorption or thoughtfulness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: reverie, revery

History

Etymology

From obsolete brown (“gloomy”) and study.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 冥思出神 (míngsīchūshén) — melancholy mood accompanied by deep thought
  • Finnish: mietteet — melancholy mood accompanied by deep thought
  • French: mélancolie — melancholy mood accompanied by deep thought
  • French: blues — melancholy mood accompanied by deep thought
  • French: bourdon — melancholy mood accompanied by deep thought
  • Russian: глубо́кое разду́мье (glubókoje razdúmʹje) — melancholy mood accompanied by deep thought