tristesse

T1R1I1S1T1E1S1S1E1

noun

sadness

OriginMiddle English trestesse ← Middle French tristesse →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nountristesse (uncountable)
  1. literaryuncountablesadness

    “The peculiar resonance of his postcoital tristesse, for example.”

    2007 January 14, Liesl Schillinger, quoting Martin Amis, “Siberian Fields”, in New York Times
    1 more example

    The robot let out a long heartfelt sigh of impassioned tristesse and sank reluctantly away from the ceiling.

    1992, Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), page 52

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
bluenessbluescrestfallennessdejectiondepressiondespondencydolefulnessdownheartednessdreariheadforlornnessgriefheartsoreill-beingmelancholiamelancholymiserymishappinessmournprosternationremorserueruthsadnesssorrowsorrowfulnesstristfulnessundelightunhappinesswoewoefarewretchedness

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchtristesse
  2. Middle Englishtrestesse
  3. Englishtristesse

From Middle English trestesse, tristes, tristesce, tristesse, tristice, from Middle French tristesse.

More words from Middle English, Middle French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with tristesse

saddressaccesspressprocessyeslessexpresssuccessunlesscongressguessdressstressexcessSMSassesschessmessblesspossessdistressnessWes
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

tristesse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tristesse

MLA

“tristesse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tristesse. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tristesse,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tristesse.

Source: tristesse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.