Dictionary
saturnine
adjective sat·ur·nine \ˈsa-tər-ˌnīn\
: very serious and unhappy
Full Definition of SATURNINE
1
: born under or influenced astrologically by the planet Saturn
2
a : cold and steady in mood : slow to act or change b : of a gloomy or surly disposition c : having a sardonic aspect <a saturnine smile>
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First Known Use of SATURNINE
15th century
Related to SATURNINE
- Synonyms
- black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich [chiefly Scottish], elegiac (also elegiacal), forlorn, funereal, glum, godforsaken, gray (also grey), lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, gloomy, sepulchral, solemn, somber (or sombre), sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched
Synonym Discussion of SATURNINE
sullen, glum, morose, surly, sulky, crabbed, saturnine, gloomy mean showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood. sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable <remained sullen amid the festivities>. glum suggests a silent dispiritedness <a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat>. morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy <morose job seekers who are inured to rejection>. surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner <a typical surly teenager>. sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness <grew sulky after every spat>. crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner <the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster>. saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition <a saturnine cynic always finding fault>. gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness <a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news>.
Other Occult Terms
Rhymes with SATURNINE
aerodyne, agate line, alkaline, androgyne, anodyne, anticline, Apennine, aquiline, argentine, asinine, auld lang syne, Aventine, Ballantyne, balloon vine, battle line, borderline, bottom-line, Byzantine, calamine, calcimine, Caroline, catarrhine, Catiline, celandine, centerline, cisalpine, claymore mine, clementine, colubrine, columbine, Columbine, concubine, conga line, contour line, Coppermine, coralline, countermine, countersign, credit line, crystalline, cytokine, dessert wine, disincline, dollar sign, down-the-line, draw the line, eglantine, endocrine, equal sign, Esquiline, exocrine, fescennine, finish line, firing line, Florentine, gas turbine, genuine, gregarine, infantine, interline, intertwine, iodine, Johannine, knotty pine, leonine, Levantine, Liechtenstein, limber pine, lubber line, minus sign, monkeyshine, morning line, muscadine, on deadline, on the line, opaline, palatine, Palatine, Palestine, party line, passerine, picket line, porcupine, psittacine, realign, redefine, redesign, riverine, saccharine, sapphirine, second-line, serpentine, service line, sibylline, Siegfried line, sixty-nine, sounding line, subalpine, sparkling wine, static line, steam turbine, story line, table wine, Theatine, three-point line, timberline, toe the line, transalpine, Tridentine, turnverein, turpentine, underline, undermine, Ursuline, uterine, valentine, vespertine, viperine, vulturine, waterline, wind turbine, worry line
Medical Dictionary
saturnine
adjective sat·ur·nine \ˈsat-ər-ˌnīn\
Medical Definition of SATURNINE
1
: of or relating to lead
2
: of, relating to, or produced by the absorption of lead into the system <saturnine poisoning> <saturnine gout>
Biographical Note for SATURNINE
Sat·urn \ˈsat-ərn\ Roman mythological character. A god of agriculture in Roman mythology, Saturn taught humans how to till the fields and enjoy the fruits of civilization. His festival was called the Saturnalia and took place in late December. Lasting a week, it was the merriest and most popular of the Roman festivals. The planet Saturn, named after the god, was believed by the ancients to be made of lead.
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