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 of melancholic

• 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

But the real focus here is on how good her own melancholic Songs of the Summer are. — Chris Willman, Variety, 3 July 2026

Then, in 1930, Horkheimer, a brilliant, turbulent man with a melancholic streak, became director and instilled a more intransigent perspective. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

Brandon Routh actually makes a decent Superman — heroic, yet understated and touchingly melancholic — but never gets a chance to do much as Clark Kent. — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 28 June 2026

From virtually the first frames, director Andrew Stanton is preoccupied with illustrating the melancholic condition of toys that have been consigned to the ash heap of history, or, at least, of childhood. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026

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