melancholic

adjective

mel·​an·​chol·​ic ˌme-lən-ˈkä-lik 

1

: of, relating to, or subject to melancholy : depressed

2

: of or relating to melancholia

3

: tending to depress the spirits : saddening

melancholic noun

Synonyms

• bad
• blue
• brokenhearted
• cast down
• crestfallen
• dejected
• depressed
• despondent
• disconsolate
• doleful
• down
• down in the mouth
• downcast
• downhearted
• droopy
• forlorn
• gloomy
• glum
• hangdog
• heartbroken
• heartsick
• heartsore
• heavyhearted
• inconsolable
• joyless
• low
• low-spirited
• melancholy
• miserable
• mournful
• sad
• saddened
• sorrowful
• sorry
• unhappy
• woebegone
• woeful
• wretched

Examples of melancholic in a Sentence

she becomes quite melancholic when she reflects on all the lost opportunities of her life

Recent Examples on the Web

Weems then read a spoken word piece, backed by a beautiful melancholic string arrangement. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 4 Nov. 2024

And the instrumental—flickering percussion and scattered, Broward County steel drums, merged with slow-mo, almost G-funk synths—is both melancholic and upbeat at the same time. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2024

With aesthetic roots in pre-Victorian Gothic fiction, goth was adapted into a black-shrouded subculture by fans of melancholic 1980s British rock bands like the Cure and Cocteau Twins and has, since then, been sliced, diced, and spliced into dozens of divergent factions. —Judy Berman, TIME, 10 Oct. 2024

Mostafa Ibrahim, melancholic poet of the Egyptian revolution, penned the lyrics, which bristle with quiet fury as Eid’s calm delivery builds into a soaring climax. —Sara Ibrahim, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English malencolic, melancolyk "consisting of or caused by black bile, irascible, gloomy," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French melancolique, borrowed from Latin melancholicus, borrowed from Greek melancholikós, from melancholía "black bile, melancholy entry 1" + -ikos -ic entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

melancholic

1 of 2 adjective

mel·​an·​chol·​ic ˌmel-ən-ˈkäl-ik 

1

: of, relating to, or subject to melancholy : depressed

2

: of or relating to melancholia

melancholic

2 of 2 noun

1

: a melancholy person

2

: melancholiac