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Melancholy vs Lament - What's the difference?

melancholy | lament |

As nouns the difference between melancholy and lament

is that melancholy is black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies while lament is an expression of grief, suffering, or sadness.

As an adjective melancholy

is affected with great sadness or depression.

As a verb lament is

to express grief; to weep or wail; to mourn.

melancholy

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Affected with great sadness or depression.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
  • , chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes

    Synonyms

    * (thoughtful sadness) (l) * See also

    Noun

    (melancholies)
  • (historical) Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.
  • *, Bk.I, New York 2001, p.148:
  • Melancholy , cold and dry, thick, black, and sour,is a bridle to the other two hot humours, blood and choler, preserving them in the blood, and nourishing the bones.
  • Great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.
  • * 1593 , (William Shakespeare), , V. i. 34:
  • My mind was troubled with deep melancholy .

    lament

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An expression of grief, suffering, or sadness.
  • A song expressing grief.
  • Derived terms

    * (l) (rare)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To express grief; to weep or wail; to mourn.
  • * Bible, John xvi. 20
  • Ye shall weep and lament , but the world shall rejoice.
  • To feel great sorrow or regret; to bewail.
  • * 2014 , , " Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian , 18 October 2014:
  • By the end, Sunderland were lucky to lose by the same scoreline Northampton Town suffered against Southampton, in 1921. The Sunderland manager, Gus Poyet, lamented that it was “the most embarrassed I’ve ever been on a football pitch, without a doubt”.
  • * Dryden
  • One laughed at follies, one lamented crimes.

    Synonyms

    * bewail

    Anagrams

    * * * * ----