What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Melancholy vs Malicious - What's the difference?

melancholy | malicious |

As adjectives the difference between melancholy and malicious

is that melancholy is affected with great sadness or depression while malicious is of, pertaining to, or as a result of malice or spite.

As a noun melancholy

is (historical) black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.

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 .

    Related terms

    * melancholic * sadness

    malicious

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (obsolete)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Of, pertaining to, or as a result of malice or spite
  • spiteful and deliberately harmful
    • He was sent off for a malicious tackle on Jones.

    Synonyms

    * malevolent * evil * See also

    Derived terms

    * maliciously * maliciousness * malicious mischief