melancholy1 adjectivemelancholy2 noun
melancholymel‧an‧chol‧y1 /ˈmelənkəli $ -kɑːli/ adjective 
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
very sad: - a secretive, melancholy man
- the melancholy tone of the poem
- Driving over the white wooden bridge that led to the farm, I found I was nursing an odd, melancholy excitement.
- For six weeks after our arrival it rained almost continually and the wind howled melancholy dirges around our chimneys and doors.
- He was much more content now, though melancholy about himself and what he'd come to.
- His songs were melancholy pictures of life and love and the evils of the consumer revolution.
- It is a very beautiful instrument, chiefly used for solo work where a melancholy and expressive tone-quality is appropriate.
- She smiled a knowing, somewhat melancholy smile.
- This melancholy contrast brought to our Southern sensibilities a touch of sadness.
The music suited her melancholy mood.melancholy1 adjectivemelancholy2 noun
melancholymelancholy2 noun [uncountable] Word OriginWORD ORIGINmelancholy2
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 Old French melancolie, from Late Latin melancholia, from Greek, from melas ‘black’ + chole ‘bile’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Goya struggled with his feelings of deep melancholy.
- He was a strange man, prone to melancholy and bouts of drinking.
- Jake was fourteen and suffering from adolescent melancholy.
- All that accentuated the swings of mood in a man capable of intense enjoyment but subject also to persistent melancholy.
- Alone on the open desert, I have made up songs of wild, poignant rejoicing and transcendent melancholy.
- He is rueful, polite, mildly disappointed, and afflicted by a low-key melancholy.
- In a mood of bitter-sweet melancholy, I walked back to the centre of Dublin.
- Jacinto, too, describes his malaise and melancholy in speech typical of the Romantic mal du siecle.
- Lights began to go on in the dark houses, and I relished my melancholy to the last drop.
- So now Baez, who recently turned 55, has a sense of accomplishment and relief and even some melancholy.
- The Grand Duke's expression slowly changed to one of melancholy.
THESAURUS► sadness
formal a feeling of sadness for no particular reason → depression: a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else’s unhappiness: · Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss.· I noticed a little sadness in her eyes.
► unhappiness the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation, especially when this lasts for a long time: · After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him.· She was a tense, nervous young woman, whose deep unhappiness was obvious to all those around her.· You do not know how much pain and unhappiness you have caused.
► sorrow written the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you: · There seemed to be nowhere to go to be alone with her sorrow.· His heart was filled with great sorrow after her death.
► misery great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions: · The cold weather is with us again and the misery of the homeless is increasing.· Thousands of families were destined to a life of misery.· The misery and pain he caused were, for him, merely a measure of his success.
► despair a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change: · At the end of the month, she still had no job and was tired, frustrated, and close to despair.
► grief great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died: · He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
► heartache a strong feeling of great sadness, especially because you miss someone you love: · She remembered the heartache of the first Christmas spent away from her sons.
► depression a mental illness that makes someone feel so unhappy that they have no energy or hope for the future, and they cannot live a normal life: · He slipped into a depression in which he hardly ate or even left his room.
► despondency formal a feeling of being very unhappy and without hope: · She felt useless, and this contributed to her despondency.
► melancholy literary a feeling of sadness, that you feel even though there is no particular reason for it: · Modigliani expressed his melancholy through his painting.
Longman Language Activatora sad feeling► sadness a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else's unhappiness: · Her eyes were full of sadness.with (great) sadness: · I remembered with great sadness all the friends I had left behind.sense of sadness: · After her death, Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss.
► unhappiness the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation: · After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him.· There is no doubt that unhappiness contributes to ill health.· You've no idea what unhappiness you cause your parents when you say that you want to leave home.
► grief especially written great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died: · Thousands of people sent floral tributes as an expression of their grief.· He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
► depression a mental illness that makes someone feel so unhappy that they have no energy or hope for the future, and they cannot live a normal life: · The family had a history of alcoholism and depression.· Mild symptoms of anxiety and depression are often associated with social difficulties.deep/severe depression: · My father had suffered from severe depression for many years.
► the blues a feeling of sadness that is not very serious, that you get sometimes for no particular reason: get/have the blues: · I often get the blues in February, before the spring arrives.a fit of the blues: · It's very common for new mothers to have a fit of the blues after giving birth.the Monday/post-Christmas etc blues: · Most people know what it's like to have the Monday morning blues.
► misery great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions: · The high interest rates caused misery for millions of people.the misery of something/somebody: · He talked openly about the misery of his marriage.· We cannot ignore the misery of the people in this country who are forced to live on the streets.
► melancholy written a feeling of sadness, especially one that continues for a long time: · He was a strange man, prone to melancholy and bouts of drinking.· Jake was fourteen and suffering from adolescent melancholy.
► sorrow written the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you: · deep/great sorrow: · The deep sorrow she felt was obvious in the expression of her face.in sorrow: · He turned quickly away, more in sorrow than in anger.to somebody's sorrow: · Six weeks later we heard, to our great sorrow, that he had died.
► heartache a feeling of unhappiness and worry, that often continues for a long time and is usually caused by problems in your personal life and relationships: · Her relationship with Tyler had brought her a great deal of heartache.· Being unpopular at school can cause real heartache to children of any age.save/spare (somebody) a lot of heartache (=stop someone worrying and feeling unhappy): · If she had simply called them, her parents would have been spared a lot of heartache.
► despondency formal a feeling of unhappiness, especially because you have been very disappointed and feel that you cannot change a situation: · Robyn walked away from the hospital with a feeling of despondency.· The sense of well-being of the 1980s was replaced by a mood of despondency.gloom/doom and despondency: · The atmosphere amongst the workers was one of gloom and despondency.
► despair a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change: · I could see hunger, exhaustion and despair in their eyes.· There was a mood of despair about the quality of urban and industrial life.in despair: · Left all alone in her room, she was in despair.the depths of despair: · It seems that he had reached the depths of despair, and he finally took his own life.
He sank into deep melancholy.