variants
also elegiacal
as in depressing
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the sight of an old ruined church or castle can be a pleasantly elegiac experience
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elegiac
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
The photographs bear poetic titles—Le Reflet de ce qu’il reste (The Reflection of What Remains), Gathering the Whispers—underscoring the elegiac tone.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elegiac
Adjective
Works of art have particular shapes (three-minute pop songs, three-act plays) and particular moods and tones (comic, tragic, romantic, elegiac).
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
Quietly elegiac and lushly romantic, this beloved piece captures the play’s contemplative pace and the sense of grief and yearning that runs throughout.
—Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
The photographs bear poetic titles—Le Reflet de ce qu’il reste (The Reflection of What Remains), Gathering the Whispers—underscoring the elegiac tone.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elegiac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elegiac
Adjective
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Soon, the entire room was awash with clippings, each detailing a different duplicitous scheme — a depressing reflection of how scam culture was taking over my country, eroding our trust in each other.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
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Welcome to the most depressing engagement party of the century.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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During one depressive episode, Springsteen somberly speeds down the road in his Camaro before violently hitting the brake.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
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There are four basic types of the disorder, which are characterized by periods of elation and hyperactivity known as manic episodes, which are then followed by depressive stages where the patient experiences feelings of sadness and depression.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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At the juncture between postwar noir and golden-age melodrama is Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, a saturnine elegy to a lost Hollywood of the silent era, when faces and charisma were more desirable than voices or talent.—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
23 Oct. 2025
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Harmony Holiday’s elegy/essay for D’Angelo is a stunning piece of writing.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Most tourists come to London for the iconic landmarks and museums, but for those with a penchant for the foreboding, the city’s morbid history sets an especially spooky tone.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
18 Oct. 2025
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Across almost 20 novels, the British author spun fantastical tales with unsentimental wit, infusing his work with darkly morbid humor, blithe child endangerment, rotten and antagonistic adults, and a willingness to occasionally laugh at the misfortune of others.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Crafted out of recyclable and renewable materials, they’re boosted with a Cloudfoam Comfort sockliner, flaunt a suede upper that taps into one of fall 2025’s most desirable materials, and have attractive perforations as part of the design.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
21 Oct. 2025
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All the wines in the bar’s more than 20 taps are from Revolution’s own label, made just steps from the dining room.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The next seven frames felt funereal.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Not explained is whether Makary would be happier if drug companies placed ads with immobile patients, frowns, and funereal music.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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At first a dirge, then the tempo rises, and the hymnal swells.—
Jenny Adams,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
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Further down the lineup, Friday has Bieber collaborator and indie fave Dijon alongside the melodic dirges of Ethel Cain.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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How To Prune Blueberry Bushes Blueberries need a number of chill hours below 45ºF during dormancy to prompt new growth and flower development for next season.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
26 Oct. 2025
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Per Deadline, the show will be set in 1991, a totally chill time to be a cop in Los Angeles.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Elegiac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elegiac. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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