as in depressive
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 five-alarm fire currently stoked by Garrett Graham suggests that what women are really yearning for isn’t a brooding hockey stud with saturnine curls and complicated rage issues but a man who, at his core, seems to like and care about women.
—
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
The movie is 40 years old now, and my perception is that more and more people have discovered it, have entered its heady realm of saturnine mystery.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026
At the juncture between postwar noir and golden-age melodrama is Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, a saturnine elegy to a lost Hollywood of the silent era, when faces and charisma were more desirable than voices or talent.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
The movie is 40 years old now, and my perception is that more and more people have discovered it, have entered its heady realm of saturnine mystery.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026
At the juncture between postwar noir and golden-age melodrama is Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, a saturnine elegy to a lost Hollywood of the silent era, when faces and charisma were more desirable than voices or talent.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saturnine
Adjective
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According to the Cleveland Clinic, bipolar disorder is marked by periods of mania, along with depressive episodes.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
15 June 2026
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In a 2025 study of 209 adolescents aged 10 to 17 who had a depressive or anxiety disorder, researchers examined iron deficiency and anxiety through brain scans and interviews.—
Sarah Bence,
Verywell Health,
10 June 2026
Adjective
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My father is a can-do, glass-half-full guy, a quality that has always felt like a rebuke of my own bleak world view, which makes the poor man literally wince.—
Sarah Miller,
New Yorker,
20 June 2026
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The numbers were even bleaker in other categories.—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
Adjective
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The feeling inside the house is quiet and somber.—
Kelsie Cairns,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
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Typical of Vandenberg weather, a marine layer of low clouds and fog added a somber look to the scene.—
Robert Pearlman,
ArsTechnica,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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But the true story behind it is a dark, sad and overall pretty confusing one.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Trudeau embraced the Southern California vibes and wore a green T-shirt with black shorts and a pair of dark sunglasses.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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But the book’s ruminative watchfulness is unsuccessfully conjugated in this overly sedate play with music, which has the feel of a song cycle, though sung by the fine cast with gorgeous, lonely sorrow.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
19 June 2026
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One casualty was his lovely Princeton apartment, which never came together, more grad-student than dean in its feel, a lonely refrigerator in the kitchen holding only a cup of iced coffee or a jar of mayonnaise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2026
Adjective
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After watching and enjoying the film, a somewhat depressing thought leaped into my mind.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
8 June 2026
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After a depressing four-year hiatus, Bus Palladium has been transformed into a 35-room luxury hotel with a bar, restaurant, and club by building owner Christian Casmèze and hotelier Nicolas Saltiel, with architecture and interiors by the design firm Studio KO.—
Alexander Lobrano,
Air Mail,
6 June 2026
Adjective
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To be fair, abducted 9-year-old Rainy is pretty cute, with solemn eyebrows and a conscience that continually puts her in peril.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
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The once-rising developer’s solemn promise is not likely to be fulfilled if court records in his federal criminal case and a parallel Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit are any indication.—
Jay Weaver
June 6,
Miami Herald,
6 June 2026
Adjective
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Wilderness Little Kulala is about a 45-minute drive outside the park, located in a seemingly desolate rocky plain with harsh, jagged mountains interspersed throughout the flatlands.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 June 2026
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Most of the women disappeared between 2000 and 2010, and most of their remains were found on a desolate parkway not far from Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Manhattan.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Saturnine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saturnine. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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