atrabiliary

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌætrəˈbɪliˌɛɹi/ UK /ˌætrəˈbɪliəɹi/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
melancholic or ill-tempered; pertaining to black bile

His atrabiliary moods made him a difficult dinner companion.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · melancholic or... melancholic atrabilious spleneticill-temperedmorose bilious

Opposites

cheerful sanguine genial

Word family

Related forms atrabilious bile bilious

Etymology

From Latin atra bilis ('black bile'), from ater ('black') + bilis ('bile'), a reference to the humoral theory in which excess black bile caused melancholy.

ater Latin bilis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# atrabiliary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˌætrəˈbɪliˌɛɹi
**IPA (UK):** ˌætrəˈbɪliəɹi

## Meanings
1. melancholic or ill-tempered; pertaining to black bile

## Examples
- His atrabiliary moods made him a difficult dinner companion.

## Synonyms
- melancholic
- atrabilious
- splenetic
- ill-tempered
- morose
- bilious

## Antonyms
- cheerful
- sanguine
- genial

## Related Forms
- atrabilious
- bile
- bilious

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ater
- Root: bilis

## Etymology
From Latin atra bilis ('black bile'), from ater ('black') + bilis ('bile'), a reference to the humoral theory in which excess black bile caused melancholy.

## AI Etymology
Atrabiliary is from Latin atra bilis ('black bile'), from ater ('black') + bilis ('bile'), a reference to the humoral theory in which excess black bile caused melancholy. In present-day use, it means melancholic or ill-tempered; pertaining to black bile. Related vocabulary includes atrabilious, bile, and bilious.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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atrabiliary

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