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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 26 May 2026
But most memorably, the Bellucci plays a lonely, melancholy artist living on the farm whose role holds the key to the movie’s (however narrow) emotional strengths.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 22 May 2026
David John Chávez, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Fanning’s name was the first called when nominations were announced, signaling that Scandinavian melancholy would be notably absent that morning.
—Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melancholy
Adjective
Linda Perry has a zero tolerance policy for Billy Corgan’s melancholy and infinite sadness.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 26 May 2026
But most memorably, the Bellucci plays a lonely, melancholy artist living on the farm whose role holds the key to the movie’s (however narrow) emotional strengths.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 22 May 2026
Noun
This is not to say the play is 95 minutes of melancholy.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Fanning’s name was the first called when nominations were announced, signaling that Scandinavian melancholy would be notably absent that morning.
—Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melancholy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melancholy
Adjective
-
The other six ascended to the highest office in the land as a result of the dysfunction that has made Peru a punch line in political-science circles, a sad story of ungovernability played on a loop.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
There’s a one-note quality to the film’s comedy that grows steadily, even deliberately, more abrasive over two hours, but the sad, brash, gradually shrinking bigness of the personalities at its center holds your attention.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Wright’s comments come as the latest data from IMF’s PortWatch showed traffic remains depressed through Hormuz, a key route for exporting crude from the Middle East.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
-
As anxiety has mounted about depressed entry-level hiring, with Gen Z crowds even booing luminaries such as Eric Schmidt amid commencement speeches touting AI, Dimon has given warm but blunt advice to ambitious young workers.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Rather, Mitchell said the decision to exclude candidates was made after thoughtful consideration and a two-thirds vote of the party’s roughly 50-member executive board.—
Matthew Kelly
Updated June 7,
Kansas City Star,
7 June 2026
-
The younger dude's use of Rick's musical idea and turning it into a worldwide hit sparks a thoughtful quest about fame and credit.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
The news of his death was met with shock and sadness from fans, players and fellow broadcasters around the NBA.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
7 June 2026
-
But sadness also, along with regret, surrounding Arguijo-Mejia.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Almost a year out to sea is very depressing.—
Steve Walsh,
NPR,
23 May 2026
-
Some sendoffs are mundane; others are downright depressing.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Adjective
-
Carting around unhappy campers in 100-degree weather and squeezing work into a shorter window is not exactly being poolside with a marg.—
Abby McCloskey,
Twin Cities,
4 June 2026
-
Mansfield city hall a point of contention Melissa Perez, who ultimately lost to Simmons in last year’s council race, is one of those unhappy with Mansfield’s leadership and its direction.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
One of the vehicles also had a light-up arrow, and all three workers had their yellow and orange reflective gear on.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
-
But the season was also a reflective one.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Most of the everyday usage of popular LLMs to get mental health advice usually involves people with relatively common cognitive issues, such as depression, anxiety, and the like.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
Her group provides services through Zoom and Google Meet to more than 7,000 adults and children coping with stressors such as cancer and chronic pain, as well as with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.—
Holly Dagres,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melancholy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melancholy. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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