saturnine

adjective

ˈsa-tər-ˌnīn How to pronounce saturnine (audio)
Definition of saturninenext
as in depressive
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the men awaiting interrogation by the police shared a saturnine silence

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word saturnine different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of saturnine are crabbed, gloomy, glum, morose, sulky, sullen, and surly. While all these words mean "showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood," saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

When is crabbed a more appropriate choice than saturnine?

The synonyms crabbed and saturnine are sometimes interchangeable, but crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

In what contexts can gloomy take the place of saturnine?

The words gloomy and saturnine are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

When can glum be used instead of saturnine?

While the synonyms glum and saturnine are close in meaning, glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

How do morose and glum relate to one another, in the sense of saturnine?

Morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

When could sulky be used to replace saturnine?

In some situations, the words sulky and saturnine are roughly equivalent. However, sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

When would sullen be a good substitute for saturnine?

Although the words sullen and saturnine have much in common, sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

Where would surly be a reasonable alternative to saturnine?

The words surly and saturnine can be used in similar contexts, but surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of saturnine Charli xcx is an awesome dance-pop star, a saturnine goddess who has the world in her hand. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 24 Jan. 2026 At the juncture between postwar noir and golden-age melodrama is Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, a saturnine elegy to a lost Hollywood of the silent era, when faces and charisma were more desirable than voices or talent. —Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025 The mood is too saturnine, the occasional nods to social criticism too stilted. —Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saturnine
  1. depressive
  2. bleak
  3. somber
  4. dark
  5. lonely
  6. depressing
  7. solemn
  8. desolate
Adjective
  • What did this new study examine, and why did researchers focus on individual depressive symptoms instead of depression overall?
    — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Santa Claus, onstage with a kitsch midcentury silver tree, has a depressive meltdown.
    — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
Definition of depressive
Adjective
  • The dating scene is bleak, or at least increasingly difficult to navigate.
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 14 Feb. 2026
  • But none of them have felt as bleak or despairing as Israeli director Anat Even’s scathing cinematic essay, Collapse (Effondrement).
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Definition of bleak
Adjective
  • Guthrie's three children also shared a somber and tearful plea that evening, asking for their mother to be returned home after her disappearance, now in its fifth day.
    — Helen Rummel, AZCentral.com, 5 Feb. 2026
  • The western Maryland battleground still carries a somber, haunting energy, a reminder of the war’s steep cost.
    — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 4 Feb. 2026
Definition of somber
Adjective
  • The activist also went full glam on her flight, looking radiant in bronzy makeup, complete with dark eyeliner, fluttery eyelashes, fluffy eyebrows, luminous skin, and glossy lips.
    — Christina Perrier, InStyle, 10 Feb. 2026
  • More dark, romantic beauty inspiration.
    — Jesa Marie Calaor, Allure, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of dark
Adjective
  • Dementia risk goes up by 40%, diabetes risk goes up 35% from being chronically lonely.
    — Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Doing a documentary sometimes is really lonely.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 Feb. 2026
Definition of lonely
Adjective
  • Firstly, the jail is depressing and the people who work there are not always nice, particularly to reporters.
    — Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Despite this, black-market Stingers have had a depressing tendency to surface in conflicts around the world.
    — David Szondy February 08, New Atlas, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of depressing
Adjective
  • Queen Emma was the first to wear the sapphire tiara in official portraits and solemn ceremonies, setting a precedent that her successors respected.
    — Marta Martínez Tato, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Good Friday is a solemn day for Christians, who may reflect, fast and attend special church services.
    — Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Feb. 2026
Definition of solemn
Adjective
  • Tennyson spent the rest of his life returning to that desolate seascape, literally but also literarily.
    — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
  • The word that came to mind was desolate.
    — Ken Harbaugh, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
Definition of desolate

Browse Nearby Words

saturnalias
saturnine
satyr
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Saturnine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saturnine. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

'Buck naked' or 'butt naked'?

What does 'etcetera' mean?

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Did Orange the Fruit or the Color Come First?

Why Is the Letter ‘Z’ Associated With Sleeping?

The Words of the Week - Feb. 13

Why do we call it 'ides of March'?
See More

Popular

See More

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Did Orange the Fruit or the Color Come First?
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
burrowing owl athene cunicularia tilts its head outside its burrow on marco island florida
Guess the Curious Origins of These Everyday Words Oh, that’s where that comes from…
See All