MELANCHOLIA Synonyms: 98 Similar and Opposite Words

melancholia

noun

Definition of melancholia

as in melancholy

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of melancholia The best thing to fight off early sunset melancholia is to try to get outside at dusk, even for a few minutes. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Nov. 2025 It was used to treat melancholia and, of course, hangovers, presumably due to its high caffeine content. — Aleksandra Crapanzano, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025 His story is sad and beautiful; as always, Only Murders cuts the melancholia with flashes of genuine warmth. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2025 Their melancholia was the uncertainty inherent in a time of enormous change. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 28 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for melancholia

Recent Examples of Synonyms for melancholia

Noun

The question for me is whether or not Lloyd will also manage to capture the melancholy of a deceptively serious play, notwithstanding its reputation.

— Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.

— Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of melancholy

Noun

This year's report finds that levels of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness among high schoolers have fallen in recent years – from 42% in 2021, to 40% in 2023 and 33% in 2025.

— Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026
Scott is tremendous and tragic in the film, maybe more so in its moments of dark humor than in its final beats of near operatic sadness.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of sadness

Noun

And while there’d been some unhappiness between her and the Borden girls a few years before the murders — a disagreement over a property the family owned — there wasn’t the kind of outright resentment portrayed in the show.

— Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026
The post and later comments arrived two months before the midterm elections, where Americans’ unhappiness with persistent high inflation has been a dominant theme.

— Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of unhappiness

Noun

Colors are accurate and saturated, doing justice to the bright vibrance of Frieren on Crunchyroll on my iPad Air and the dark gloominess of Ball x Pit on my Switch 2 via an adapter.

— Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 12 Mar. 2026
His gloominess seemed to make no sense.

— Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025

Definition of gloominess

Noun

In the space of a few paragraphs, Ned will abandon and recover his child, bungle an extramarital affair, win and lose, experience ecstasy and dejection.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
Miller’s hands dropped quickly to his side in frustrated dejection.

— Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of dejection

Noun

With her toadstool-like jet-black perm and dark red lipstick, Haru is a striking presence, the sensuousness of her moves conveying both longing and sorrow.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Oakley and Reid lean so heavily into Elinor and Marianne’s crushing disappointments and the forces holding them back in a period of vast gender inequity, that their sorrows shove the characters’ more captivating qualities to the side.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of sorrow

Browse Nearby Words

meisters

melancholia

melancholic

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Melancholia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melancholia. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of melancholia

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on melancholia

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

tittle

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes