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Melancholy vs Wistfulness - What's the difference?

melancholy | wistfulness |

As nouns the difference between melancholy and wistfulness

is that melancholy is black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies while wistfulness is the state or characteristic of being wistful.

As an adjective melancholy

is affected with great sadness or depression.

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

    wistfulness

    English

    Noun

    (-)
  • The state or characteristic of being wistful.
  • *{{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=May 27 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992) , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=It’s a lovely sequence cut too short because the show seems afraid to give itself over to romance and whimsy and wistfulness when it has wedgie jokes to deliver. }}