melancholic

adjective

mel·​an·​chol·​ic ˌme-lən-ˈkä-lik 

1

: of, relating to, or subject to melancholy : depressed

2

: of or relating to melancholia

3

: tending to depress the spirits : saddening

melancholic noun

Synonyms

• sad
• depressed
• unhappy
• melancholy
• heartbroken
• miserable
• mournful
• bad
• sorrowful
• sorry

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

This melancholic yet humorous duet about a newly sober man who forms an unexpected bond with his dentist was an audience favorite at the SXSW festival. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 25 June 2025

Where the original is melancholic and smooth, Wayne’s spin is mischievous. —Pitchfork, 6 June 2025

This a significantly less zany, more melancholic affair than any of those games, a chilly fairytale of light puzzle-solving and poignant, worldless adventuring. —Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025

The warm synths combined with vocalist Brendan Yates melancholic shouts somehow make for one of the most alluring choruses the band has ever written. —Quentin Thane Singer, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

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

Rhymes for melancholic

• alcoholic
• anabolic
• apostolic
• catabolic
• cytosolic
• diabolic
• diastolic
• ethanolic
• hyperbolic
• metabolic
• methanolic
• parabolic

Medical Definition

melancholic

1 of 2 adjective

mel·​an·​chol·​ic ˌmel-ən-ˈkäl-ik 

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

: melancholiac