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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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
Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2025
Luckily, Pattinson manages to keep things buoyant without diluting the late-capitalism metaphors or the melancholy existentialism.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2025
Joe Reid, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Moving and melancholy, Chalamet’s performance brought him widespread awards recognition including SAG, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for melancholy
Adjective
The Welsh quartet’s Dead Meat follow-up takes DNA from the Smiths’ melancholy exuberance, the Go-Betweens’ windswept gusto, and gung-ho London punk fervor to formulate a disempowered power-pop that spins insecurity and grief into bundles of melodic joy.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2025
Luckily, Pattinson manages to keep things buoyant without diluting the late-capitalism metaphors or the melancholy existentialism.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2025
Noun
There’s some comedy in there, but all the laughs are so blunted by a determined melancholy that nothing really lands.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
Moving and melancholy, Chalamet’s performance brought him widespread awards recognition including SAG, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for melancholy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melancholy
Adjective
-
Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
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Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Swelling in the hands and feet, getting sick frequently, feeling depressed, or having wounds that are slow to heal.—
Lorena Meouchi,
Vogue,
21 Mar. 2025
-
The photographer asked me to act sad and depressed, to stop smiling.—
Gaylyn Henderson, MPH,
Health,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
No new technology can replace what a thoughtful culture audit can reveal.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
-
These quotes are all from the thoughtful, candid, curious mommy makeover patients that Allure recently spoke to for our story 17 People Get Real About their Mommy Makeovers.—
Meirav Devash,
Allure,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The truth is more depressing: This show is bad in the usual manner of reality television.—
Peter Tonguette,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Mar. 2025
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That wasn’t even the most depressing of Vlasic’s quotes.—
Scott Powers,
The Athletic,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Despite that success, Willard was unhappy with the program’s financial commitments.—
Taylor Lyons,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Mar. 2025
-
The extra time will presumably be used to fix whatever about the season executives are unhappy with.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Covering 80% of roof area on commercial buildings in the U.S. with solar reflective material would be the equivalent to turning off 34 coal power plants for one year.—
Rob Lewallen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Apr. 2025
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The dining room on the floor below has deep red carpets, gold chairs, burl wood walls in a herringbone pattern and reflective metallic paint on the ceiling that intensifies the rotating 360 degree views.—
Laurie Werner,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
Noun
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How the arts can create healthier communities According to thousands of studies, researchers have determined that involvement in the arts can improve public health and promote healing from illness, as well as protect against such problems as cognitive decline, heart disease, anxiety and depression.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2025
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The majority of women take acetaminophen at some point during pregnancy, with more use among those with anxiety and depression, according to past research.—
Shiv Sudhakar,
FOXNews.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This is a love story, after all, and one with a keen grasp of the mournful, curious glances between its two leads — of how much goes untranslated between them, and how much is conveyed.—
Sheri Linden,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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In a circular frame at the center of the screen, still images and footage of the deceased played over the swelling, mournful music in a static shot anchoring the four-and-a-half-minute segment, which was capped off by a final photograph of Hackman.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
2 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Melancholy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melancholy. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
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