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

• bad
• blue
• brokenhearted
• cast down
• crestfallen
• dejected
• depressed
• despondent
• disconsolate
• doleful
• down
• down in the mouth
• downcast
• downhearted
• droopy
• forlorn
• gloomy
• glum
• hangdog
• heartbroken
• heartsick
• heartsore
• heavyhearted
• inconsolable
• joyless
• low
• low-spirited
• melancholy
• miserable
• mournful
• sad
• saddened
• sorrowful
• sorry
• unhappy
• woebegone
• woeful
• wretched

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

There’s a kind of melancholic whimsy here, and lyrical poetry, which makes this song an appropriate listen for a solar eclipse. —Maria Sherman, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024

Whether daydreaming, seductive or melancholic and fragile — each of her roles has a special aura surrounding it. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024

Based on the Swedish word for 20, but which also can be Finnish for counting eggs or a musical score, Salonen played with the ordering of 20 chords, turning them into a resplendent phantasmagoric series of dances, fanfares, misty harmonic clouds and melancholic melody. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024

That’s what melancholic music does to you isn’t it? —Katie Bain, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2024

As with Isong, Iris’ politely needling interrogation of Wonju yields poignant memories of family and childhood, though Iris returns these with her own melancholic reflections on mortality. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024

Its fantasias are more melancholic, its themes of longing more resentful. —Allaire Nuss, EW.com, 6 Feb. 2024

But there is something dismal and melancholic about Ballard’s vision. —Leah Dolan, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024

By turns sentimental and melancholic, Haigh’s beautiful meditation on loneliness also includes ghostly visitations. —Margy Rochlin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023

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

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