melancholy 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of melancholynext
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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melancholy

2 of 2

noun

ˈme-lən-ˌkä-lē How to pronounce melancholy (audio)
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

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 melancholy
Adjective
Forte, and everyone else in the room, loved it, and as the lights went up, doubt and melancholy turned into frustration and confusion. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2026 Blending dry Finnish humour with melancholy and unexpected warmth, ATLANTIS PASILA turns its distinctly local setting into an intimate portrait of a generation searching for connection. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
Noun
Early Years Eichenberg recounted his childhood with some melancholy. — Jessica George, JSTOR Daily, 27 May 2026 The specific kind of melancholy that only exists between Halloween and the first real snow. — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 29 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for melancholy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melancholy
  1. sad
  2. depressed
  3. thoughtful
  4. sadness
  5. depressing
  6. unhappy
  7. reflective
  8. depression
Adjective
  • For all of the franchise’s misadventures, the Mets — led by ones who were there for that sad September in 2001 — get this right.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Let’s return, then, to La Quinta, and the saddest pizza party imaginable.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of sad
Adjective
  • Quietly depressed, a wife to Reuben (Tracy Letts, Coon’s real-life partner) and mother to Ella (Bella Ramsey) and Jo (Odessa Young), Rita holds a monotonous desk job at a bank by day, and tends to her family by night as part of her humdrum routine.
    — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Sprague conceded Clancy had mental health issues and was depressed.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of depressed
Adjective
  • Could thoughtful architecture, practical living spaces, durable materials and useful amenities be delivered without pushing homes into the highest end of the market?
    — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
  • If leaders distinguish between thoughtful and careless risks, people can move boldly without lowering the bar.
    — Aleksandr Yampolskiy, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of thoughtful
Noun
  • Despite being steeped in the sadness and frustration of the working class, Lee’s drama uses its film-within-a-film construct to refract the moral valences of labor through the prism of what people actually earn through their work.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
  • This one, however, finds the director in a mood to confront the inevitable changes and march of time, its joys and sadness in the lives of ordinary people going about living it.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of sadness
Adjective
  • Voting rights advocates argue that requirements to present birth certificates or passports in order to register to vote is a disguised effort to make voting more difficult, depressing turnout and in effect disenfranchising voters.
    — Todd Spangler, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Climate change, depressing and overwhelming, falls into that category.
    — Peter Prengaman, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of depressing
Adjective
  • Warner and Greenlaw — close friends since San Francisco drafted Greenlaw in 2019 — were together again after both missed most of the 2025 season with injuries, Greenlaw’s coming as an unhappy member of the Denver Broncos.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • There's also the daunting task of keeping young conservatives engaged at a time when many of them are unhappy with party leaders.
    — Elena Moore, NPR, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of unhappy
Adjective
  • Be sure to plan your trip around mid-to-late October, when autumnal foliage is at its peak, and hit hiking trails that come alive with color, like the Croda da Lago Circuit and its reflective alpine lake, Lago di Federa.
    — Jessica Sulima, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Its reflective surface changes with the light, the weather, and the movement of the people who encounter it.
    — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of reflective
Noun
  • Overall, Carr says groups treated with itPBM showed fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and PTSD, and showed more efficient processing, faster response speed, improved sustained attention and enhanced executive function.
    — Mirin Fader, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The left brain, by contrast, commands language processing, and following a stroke to the left brain, a person can develop not only a communication disorder but often post-stroke depression as well.
    — Michael P.H. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of depression

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melancholic
melancholy
mélange
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Cite this Entry

“Melancholy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melancholy. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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