Standard Lemma guide

melancholic

adj · noun · 6 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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  • CMU ARPABET: M EH2 L AH0 N K AA1 L IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Filled with or affected by melancholy—great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: miserable, despondent, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless, chopfallen, crestfallen, cut up, damp, dejected, depressed, disgruntled, disconsolate, disheartened, dismal, doleful, dolesome, down, down in the dumps, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, downsome, dull, elegiac, elegious, forlorn, gloomy, glum, grief-stricken, grieving, heavy-hearted, heartsore, heartsick, inconsolable, infelicitous, jawfallen, joyless, lachrymose, lamentful, low, low-spirited, lugubrious, lumpish, melancholic, melancholy, moody, mopey, morose, mournful, passionate, plaintive, Plutonian, Plutonic, querulous, ruthful, sad, saddened, saturnine, shattered, solemn, sombre, sorrowful, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome, spiritless, sullen, threnetic, threnetical, triste, tristful, uncheerful, uncheery, unconsolable, unhappy, unlively, wistful, woe, woebegone, woeful, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Pertaining to black bile (melancholy).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Pertaining to the melancholic temperament or its associated personality traits.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: classical temperament

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A person who is habitually melancholy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

characterized by or causing or expressing sadness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • growing more melancholy every hour
  • her melancholic smile
  • we acquainted him with the melancholy truth

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: melancholy

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

someone subject to melancholia

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: melancholiac

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: depressive

History

Etymology

From Latin melancholicus, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολικός (melankholikós, “atrabilious, impulsive, of atrabilious or melancholic temperament”), from μελαγχολία (melankholía, “melancholy”). By surface analysis, melancholy + -ic.

Across languages

Translations

91 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: سَوْدَاوِيّ (sawdāwiyy) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Bulgarian: меланхоличен (melanholičen) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Catalan: melancòlic — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Catalan: malenconiós — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 憂鬱 /忧郁 (yōuyù) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 多愁善感 (duōchóushàngǎn) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Czech: melancholický — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Czech: trudnomyslný — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Czech: těžkomyslný — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Czech: zádumčivý — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Danish: melankolsk — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Dutch: melancholisch — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Dutch: droevig — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Esperanto: melankolia — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Finnish: apea — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Finnish: melankolinen — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Finnish: alakuloinen — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Finnish: haikea — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Finnish: surumielinen — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • French: mélancolique — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Galician: melancólico — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Georgian: ნაღვლიანი (naɣvliani) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Georgian: სევდიანი (sevdiani) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • German: melancholisch — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • German: schwermütig — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Greek: μελαγχολικός (melancholikós) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Ancient Greek: δύσθυμος (dústhumos) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Ancient Greek: σκυθρωπός (skuthrōpós) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Hebrew: מלנכולי (melanḥoli) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Hebrew: דכדוך (dikhdókh) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Hungarian: búskomor — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Indonesian: melankolis — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Ingrian: alakuloin — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Interlingua: melancholia — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Irish: dúchroíoch — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Italian: malinconico — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Italian: melancolico — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Japanese: 憂鬱な (yūutsu na) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Japanese: 鬱病の (utsubyō no) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Latin: melancholicus — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Latin: maestus — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Luxembourgish: melancholesch — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Māori: kainatu — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Māori: matapōuri — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Māori: ruku popoi — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Māori: rāwakiwaki — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sørgmodig — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Norwegian Bokmål: melankolsk — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sørgmodig — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: melankolsk — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Old English: drēoriġ — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Polish: melancholiczny — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Polish: melancholijny — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Portuguese: melancólico — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Romanian: melancolic — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Russian: меланхоли́ческий (melanxolíčeskij) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Russian: меланхоли́чный (melanxolíčnyj) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Sanskrit: खिन्न (khinna) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scots: dowie — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: mulad — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: èislean — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: dòlasachd — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: tùirse — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: dubhachas — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: cianalas — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Scottish Gaelic: truime — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: снужденост — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: утученост — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: snuždenost — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: utučenost — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Serbo-Croatian: melankòličan — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Spanish: melancólico — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Swedish: melankolisk — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Tagalog: lukulok — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Tatar: меланхолик (melanxolik) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Turkish: melankolik — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Turkish: hüzünlü — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Turkish: kederli — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Ukrainian: меланхо́лічний (melanxóličnyj) — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Volapük: glumaladäl — filled with or affected by melancholy
  • Bulgarian: меланхолик (melanholik) — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Esperanto: melankoliulo — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • German: Melancholiker — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • German: Melancholikerin — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Polish: melancholik — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Polish: melancholiczka — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Romanian: melancolic — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Romanian: melancolică — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Russian: меланхо́лик (melanxólik) — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Swedish: melankoliker — a person who is habitually melancholy
  • Ukrainian: меланхо́лік (melanxólik) — a person who is habitually melancholy