variants
also elegiacal
as in somber
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the sight of an old ruined church or castle can be a pleasantly elegiac experience
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elegiac
Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
The film’s craft — from production design and makeup to Alexandre Desplat’s elegiac score — is already drawing awards buzz.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elegiac
Adjective
McGuane’s style grew less frantic, more habitually elegiac.
—Noun
Works of art have particular shapes (three-minute pop songs, three-act plays) and particular moods and tones (comic, tragic, romantic, elegiac).
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for elegiac
Adjective
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With so many comedy writers on the bill, the Broder tribute was no somber affair.—
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As is tradition, all the women were dressed in black ensembles to mark the somber occasion, which commemorates members of the military from Britain and the Commonwealth who have died in battle.—
Adjective
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Her family later learned that on April 23, 2021 — the day Parker found his aunt in a bleak mood — Dee had an angry confrontation over financial issues with two employees of the trucking company.—
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Some of Tarr’s most memorable scenes feature landscapes, often bleak and despairing settings of decaying Hungarian towns, punctuated with close-ups of characters’ faces.—
Noun
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These books can be read as comedies of cognitive dissonance or as melancholy elegies for the very possibility of closure.—
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Public Theater Else Went’s epic elegy to the great loves and losses of high school captured a certain moment — the precarious turn of the millennium — and a certain kind of teenage terror and heartache with precision and compassion.—
Adjective
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More than five hours after the crash, there was a solemn procession off of Route 146 led by Massachusetts State Police, followed by the medical examiner and fellow police officers.—
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That this is a serious matter—not slight at all—does not oblige the author of a seriously funny book to be solemn.—
Noun
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About Cavendish Brewery Opened in 2017, the pub has 28 taps and specializes in old world beer styles.—
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The country’s problems were compounded by a water and energy crisis last year that led to dry taps and electricity blackouts.—
Adjective
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In the story, there is a lot of comedy that naturally arises from tragic moments, from dark, depressing moments.—
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This is par for the course, because conversations are confusing, even depressing.—
Noun
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Swedish singer-composer Anna von Hausswolff, whose cathedral melodies, intense vocals and doom-laden dirges share much in common with Nordic heavy-metal culture, specializes in mystery and grandiosity.—
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Thanksgiving can be delightful or draining, a festive feast or a dispiriting dirge.—
Adjective
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Don't feel afraid to play with bold (but dark) colors and various materials.—
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Open my soul to the vast dark places.—
Cite this Entry
“Elegiac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elegiac. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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