melancholic

adjective

mel·​an·​chol·​ic ˌme-lən-ˈkä-lik How to pronounce melancholic (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or subject to melancholy : depressed
2
: of or relating to melancholia
3
: tending to depress the spirits : saddening
melancholic noun

Examples of melancholic in a Sentence

she becomes quite melancholic when she reflects on all the lost opportunities of her life
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Weems then read a spoken word piece, backed by a beautiful melancholic string arrangement. Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 4 Nov. 2024 And the instrumental—flickering percussion and scattered, Broward County steel drums, merged with slow-mo, almost G-funk synths—is both melancholic and upbeat at the same time. Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2024 With aesthetic roots in pre-Victorian Gothic fiction, goth was adapted into a black-shrouded subculture by fans of melancholic 1980s British rock bands like the Cure and Cocteau Twins and has, since then, been sliced, diced, and spliced into dozens of divergent factions. Judy Berman, TIME, 10 Oct. 2024 Mostafa Ibrahim, melancholic poet of the Egyptian revolution, penned the lyrics, which bristle with quiet fury as Eid’s calm delivery builds into a soaring climax. Sara Ibrahim, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for melancholic 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English malencolic, melancolyk "consisting of or caused by black bile, irascible, gloomy," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French melancolique, borrowed from Latin melancholicus, borrowed from Greek melancholikós, from melancholía "black bile, melancholy entry 1" + -ikos -ic entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of melancholic was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near melancholic

Cite this Entry

“Melancholic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melancholic. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

melancholic

1 of 2 adjective
mel·​an·​chol·​ic ˌmel-ən-ˈkäl-ik How to pronounce melancholic (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or subject to melancholy : depressed
2
: of or relating to melancholia

melancholic

2 of 2 noun
1
: a melancholy person
2

More from Merriam-Webster on melancholic

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