as in somber
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the men awaiting interrogation by the police shared a saturnine silence
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Recent Examples of saturnine
The mood is too saturnine, the occasional nods to social criticism too stilted.
—
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2022
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saturnine
Adjective
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Rayburn partners up with local sheriff Alice Gustafson (Annabelle Wallis) in a somber yet tumultuous pursuit of a killer who uses brutal traps and primal tactics.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
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That’s the question writer-director Ari Aster’s somber comedy-Western Eddington, playing in competition here at the Cannes Film Festival, appears to be asking.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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Weaker but still significant effects were observed in those without depressive symptoms.—
Paul McClure
May 14,
New Atlas,
14 May 2025
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This makes sense because a recent study found that 59% of yoga participants had reduced depressive symptoms after practicing heated yoga weekly for just 8 weeks.—
Dominique Fluker,
Essence,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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The latest Email Threat Trends Report from VIPRE paints a bleak picture.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
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Related article Putin just called Trump’s bluff on Ukraine, with the Russian art of the ‘no’ deal Ukraine in 2025 is a bleak prospect.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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With their golden yellow rays surrounding a dark cone, Rudbeckias are quintessential summer blooms.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
22 May 2025
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Related Stories All About Jalen Brunson's Parents, Sandra and Rick Brunson See Photos of Timothée Chalamet, Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and More On May 16, Chalamet wore a Chrome Hearts tracksuit in a dark navy blue.—
Starr Bowenbank,
People.com,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Similarly, a cat was sent to a shelter after 10 years in a home after his owner passed away, leaving him lonely and searching for a new home.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
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Health officials have said the United States is facing a mental health crisis, and in 2023, nearly 1 in 4 adults around the world reported feeling fairly or very lonely.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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Instead, Chernow devotes a hefty portion of his 1,039 pages (excluding notes) to Twain’s personal tribulations, a depressing series of bungles and calamities starting in the author’s middle age.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
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The lack of business on Sunday and Monday nights could be especially depressing.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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A lot of people have this idea of the north as being cold and desolate, and maybe people, once upon a time, lived up there, but don't anymore.—
Dana Feldman,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Memphis rapper began the show with dramatics, rising on a giant platform with her back to the audience as a screen behind her projected the image of a desolate street.—
John Lonsdale,
Rolling Stone,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Yet the morbid final phase of Twain’s writing, though always less popular (in part because much of it was unpublished during his life), is to my taste still sublime.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
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Certainly many people will come — or watch at home — out of morbid curiosity.—
Jocelyn Noveck,
Boston Herald,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Saturnine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saturnine. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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