1
as in sad
causing unhappiness
the melancholy thought of having to say good-bye to all the friends he had made over the summer
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2
as in depressed
feeling unhappiness
they were a bit melancholy after their youngest child left for college
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3
as in thoughtful
given to or marked by long, quiet thinking
a melancholy period in the artist's life that is reflected in his work
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as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits
the bleakness of winter sometimes gives me cause for melancholy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of melancholy
Keith Phipps, Vulture, 18 July 2025
It’s hushed, melancholy and rending in all the best ways.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 16 July 2025
Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
The track captures a bleary feeling of trying to have fun but getting pulled into melancholy.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for melancholy
Adjective
Filmed in snowy Vancouver and set to some of the most melancholy songs Leonard Cohen ever recorded, the film lets a sense of fatalism hang over even its lightest moments.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 18 July 2025
It’s hushed, melancholy and rending in all the best ways.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 16 July 2025
Noun
There was an air of melancholy from Australians in the Caribbean, with a feeling that this might be Australia’s last Test tour of the West Indies.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
The track captures a bleary feeling of trying to have fun but getting pulled into melancholy.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for melancholy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melancholy
Adjective
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How long is unknown, but with the season winding down and every game increasing in importance, any game off for Tucker is a sad statement on how far his stock has dropped in the last month.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Aug. 2025
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But the film’s precise, funny characters and vivid, sweltering look would have meant nothing without Lee’s wise and ultimately sad vision of multicultural America as a place where good intentions and casual mistrust are as commonplace as the local pizzeria.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That view shifted Wednesday, with our double upgrade back to our buy-equivalent 1 rating after CEO David Ricks and several other company insiders bought lots of shares of the depressed stock.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
14 Aug. 2025
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The note also warned the depressed job-growth pace is unlikely to sustain income gains.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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These aren’t edge cases but increasingly common scenarios requiring thoughtful, human-centric design.—
Anuradha Gupta,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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An artistic 14-year-old boy known for his thoughtful nature drowned just weeks before starting high school, Michigan officials say.—
Mike Stunson,
Kansas City Star,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Gambling today, however, is a sad and depressing experience, nothing like my dad’s and my Atlantic City adventure.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Aug. 2025
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And yet, somehow, the most depressing show on TV—with the exception of any news broadcast, at least—is a reality soap about bougie couples in the suburbs of Los Angeles.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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As with almost any change, some residents were unhappy, mostly about being told to slow down.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
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President Donald Trump was unhappy with July’s U.S. jobs report, which showed hiring slowing (with 73,000 jobs added, compared to 100,000 predicted) and revised past months’ numbers.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Kirilenko described her holding cell inside 26 Federal Plaza as a cold, cement room where women slept on benches or the floor, with just reflective blankets to keep them warm.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
9 Aug. 2025
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But behind the scenes, producers say the making of Chaotic was reflective of its title, mostly because the network, UPN, had purchased all of Spears’s footage unseen and then looked to producers to craft a multi-episode series.—
Krystie Lee Yandoli,
Glamour,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Forecasters said in an Aug. 18 advisory that environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form during the latter part of this week.—
Gabe Hauari,
USA Today,
19 Aug. 2025
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The hurricane center has already identified a tropical wave behind Erin that has a medium chance of developing into a tropical depression or tropical storm within the next seven days.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Ortega’s deadpan remains impeccable and her mournful gaze allows for viewer projection that goes beyond anything on the page, but Wednesday too often comes across as a piece of an ensemble at this point.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Aug. 2025
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Just over two weeks after the death of his father, Ozzy Osbourne, the metal legend’s youngest child, Jack Osbourne, shared a mournful tribute on Instagram.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Melancholy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melancholy. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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