Meanings
comparative more melancholic · superlative most melancholic · alternative obsolete melancholick · alternative obsolete melancholicke · alternative obsolete melancholike
- Filled with or affected by melancholy—great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
Just as the melancholic eye / Sees fleets and armies in the sky.
1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC1 more example
But he was also a natural chronicler: one senses that, even as his schemes collapsed, this aesthetic Arab Quixote knew the stories would make great material for his witty, sharp, melancholic writings.
2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography – A History of the Middle East, page 268Synonyms: miserable, despondent, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out
- datedPertaining to black bile (melancholy).
- classical temperamentPertaining to the melancholic temperament or its associated personality traits.
plural melancholics · alternative obsolete melancholick · alternative obsolete melancholicke · alternative obsolete melancholike
- A person who is habitually melancholy.
Kafka, Hart Crane, Jackson Pollock, Tennessee Williams, Mark Rothko, melancholics all, so why shouldn’t we accept our own bleakness and take long walks in the winter woods and look at the gnarled limbs of trees and struggle with the inscrutable and accept the beauty of permanent turmoil?
2008 March 16, Garrison Keillor, “Woe Be Gone”, in New York Times
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFilled with or affected by melancholy—great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecharacterized by or causing or expressing sadness
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμελαγχολικός“atrabilious, impulsive, of atrabilious or melancholic temperament”
- Latinmelancholicus
- Englishmelancholic
From Latin melancholicus, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολικός (melankholikós, “atrabilious, impulsive, of atrabilious or melancholic temperament”), from μελαγχολία (melankholía, “melancholy”). By surface analysis, melancholy + -ic.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek δύσθυμος, σκυθρωπός
- δύσθυμος (dústhumos)filled with or affected by melancholy
- σκυθρωπός (skuthrōpós)filled with or affected by melancholy
Arabic سَوْدَاوِيّ
- سَوْدَاوِيّ (sawdāwiyy)filled with or affected by melancholy
Bulgarian меланхоличен, меланхолик
- меланхоличен (melanholičen)filled with or affected by melancholy
- меланхолик (melanholik)a person who is habitually melancholy
Catalan melancòlic, malenconiós
- melancòlicfilled with or affected by melancholy
- malenconiósfilled with or affected by melancholy
Chinese Mandarin 憂鬱 /忧郁, 多愁善感
- 憂鬱 /忧郁 (yōuyù)filled with or affected by melancholy
- 多愁善感 (duōchóushàngǎn)filled with or affected by melancholy
- 憂鬱的人 /忧郁的人 (yōuyù de rén)a person who is habitually melancholy
Czech melancholický, trudnomyslný
- melancholickýfilled with or affected by melancholy
- trudnomyslnýfilled with or affected by melancholy
- těžkomyslnýfilled with or affected by melancholy
- zádumčivýfilled with or affected by melancholy
Danish melankolsk
- melankolskfilled with or affected by melancholy
Dutch melancholisch, droevig
- melancholischfilled with or affected by melancholy
- droevigfilled with or affected by melancholy
Esperanto melankolia, melankoliulo
- melankoliafilled with or affected by melancholy
- melankoliuloa person who is habitually melancholy
Finnish apea, melankolinen
- apeafilled with or affected by melancholy
- melankolinenfilled with or affected by melancholy
- alakuloinenfilled with or affected by melancholy
- haikeafilled with or affected by melancholy
- surumielinenfilled with or affected by melancholy
French mélancolique
- mélancoliquefilled with or affected by melancholy
German melancholisch, schwermütig
- melancholischfilled with or affected by melancholy
- schwermütigfilled with or affected by melancholy
- Melancholikera person who is habitually melancholy
- Melancholikerina person who is habitually melancholy
Greek μελαγχολικός
- μελαγχολικός (melancholikós)filled with or affected by melancholy
Hebrew מלנכולי, דכדוך
- מלנכולי (melanḥoli)filled with or affected by melancholy
- דכדוך (dikhdókh)filled with or affected by melancholy
Hungarian búskomor
- búskomorfilled with or affected by melancholy
Indonesian melankolis, murung
- melankolisfilled with or affected by melancholy
- murungfilled with or affected by melancholy
- sayufilled with or affected by melancholy
Irish dúchroíoch
- dúchroíochfilled with or affected by melancholy
Italian malinconico, melancolico
- malinconicofilled with or affected by melancholy
- melancolicofilled with or affected by melancholy
Japanese 憂鬱な, 鬱病の
- 憂鬱な (yūutsu na)filled with or affected by melancholy
- 鬱病の (utsubyō no)filled with or affected by melancholy
- 憂鬱な人 (yūutsu na hito)a person who is habitually melancholy
Latin melancholicus, maestus
- melancholicusfilled with or affected by melancholy
- maestusfilled with or affected by melancholy
Māori kainatu, matapōuri
- kainatufilled with or affected by melancholy
- matapōurifilled with or affected by melancholy
- ruku popoifilled with or affected by melancholy
- rāwakiwakifilled with or affected by melancholy
Norwegian Bokmål sørgmodig, melankolsk
- sørgmodigfilled with or affected by melancholy
- melankolskfilled with or affected by melancholy
Polish melancholiczny, melancholijny
- melancholicznyfilled with or affected by melancholy
- melancholijnyfilled with or affected by melancholy
- melancholika person who is habitually melancholy
- melancholiczkaa person who is habitually melancholy
Portuguese melancólico
- melancólicofilled with or affected by melancholy
Romanian melancolic, melancolic
- melancolicfilled with or affected by melancholy
- melancolica person who is habitually melancholy
- melancolicăa person who is habitually melancholy
Russian меланхоли́ческий, меланхоли́чный
- меланхоли́ческий (melanxolíčeskij)filled with or affected by melancholy
- меланхоли́чный (melanxolíčnyj)filled with or affected by melancholy
- меланхо́лик (melanxólik)a person who is habitually melancholy
Scottish Gaelic mulad, èislean
- muladfilled with or affected by melancholy
- èisleanfilled with or affected by melancholy
- dòlasachdfilled with or affected by melancholy
- tùirsefilled with or affected by melancholy
- dubhachasfilled with or affected by melancholy
- cianalasfilled with or affected by melancholy
- truimefilled with or affected by melancholy
- duine brònacha person who is habitually melancholy
Spanish melancólico
- melancólicofilled with or affected by melancholy
Swedish melankolisk, melankoliker
- melankoliskfilled with or affected by melancholy
- melankolikera person who is habitually melancholy
Tagalog lukulok
- lukulokfilled with or affected by melancholy
Turkish melankolik, hüzünlü
- melankolikfilled with or affected by melancholy
- hüzünlüfilled with or affected by melancholy
- kederlifilled with or affected by melancholy
Ukrainian меланхо́лічний, меланхо́лік
- меланхо́лічний (melanxóličnyj)filled with or affected by melancholy
- меланхо́лік (melanxólik)a person who is habitually melancholy
Cite this entry
melancholic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melancholic
“melancholic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melancholic. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “melancholic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melancholic.
Source: melancholic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.