melancholy
Feeling or showing a deep, quiet sadness.
melancholy in a sentence
- A melancholy tune drifted from the violin, and the room fell quiet.
- A melancholy mood settled over the caravan as the last day of the holiday arrived.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to melancholy?
- Acheerful
- Bjoyful
- Chappy
- Dsad
Show the answer
D: sad. The other three mean the opposite of melancholy.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to melancholy?
- Agloomy
- Bsorrowful
- Csad
- Dhappy
Show the answer
D: happy. The other three mean nearly the same as melancholy.
Words that mean something similar
sad, gloomy, sorrowful
Words that mean the opposite
happy, cheerful, joyful
More words about emotions & feelings
- mirth: Happy laughter and fun.
- morose: Gloomy, silent and in a bad mood.
- mournful: Full of sadness, especially about a loss.
- nauseating: So horrible that it makes you feel sick.
- nauseous: Feeling sick, as if you might vomit.
- nostalgic: Feeling happy and a little sad when you remember good times from the past.
- optimistic: Believing that good things will happen.
- outburst: A sudden explosion of strong feeling, like anger or laughter.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test