melancholy

UK: /ˈmɛlənkɒli/ US: /ˈmɛlənˌkɑli/ ,(mel′ən kol′ē)

Inflections of 'melancholy' (n): npl: melancholies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mel•an•chol•y /ˈmɛlənˌkɑli/   n. [uncountable]

1. Psychiatry a gloomy state of mind;
   depression or dejection.

adj. 

2. affected with melancholy;
   depressed:
   a melancholy mood.
3. causing melancholy:
   a melancholy occasion.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mel•an•chol•y  (mel′ən kol′ē), n., pl. -chol•ies, adj. 
n. 

1. Psychiatry a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual or prolonged;
   depression.
2. sober thoughtfulness;
   pensiveness.
3. [Archaic.]
   • the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.
   • black bile.

adj. 

4. affected with, characterized by, or showing melancholy;
   mournful;
   depressed:
   a melancholy mood.
5. causing melancholy or sadness;
   saddening:
   a melancholy occasion.
6. soberly thoughtful;
   pensive.

• Greek melancholía condition of having black bile, equivalent. to melan- melan- + chol(é̄) bile + -ia -ia
• Late Latin melancholia
• Middle English melancholie 1275–1325

mel′an•chol′i•ly, adv. 
mel′an•chol′i•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. sadness, dejection, despondency.
• 2. seriousness.
• 4. gloomy, despondent, blue, dispirited, sorrowful, dismal, doleful, glum, downcast.
• 6. serious.

Antonyms

• 1. cheer, happiness.
• 5. happy.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

melancholy / ˈmɛlənkəlɪ/ noun ( -cholies)

1. a constitutional tendency to gloominess or depression
2. a sad thoughtful state of mind; pensiveness
3. a gloomy character, thought to be caused by too much black bile
4. one of the four bodily humours; black bile
   See humour8

adjective

1. characterized by, causing, or expressing sadness, dejection, etc

Etymology: 14th Century: via Old French from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek melankholia, from melas black + kholē bile