atrabilious C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˌætrəˈbɪliəs/ UK /ˌætrəˈbɪliəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj melancholy, gloomy, or bad-tempered The atrabilious clerk scowled at every customer who entered. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · melancholy, gloomy, or... melancholygloomymorosespleneticill-temperedatrabiliarybilioussullen ↔ Opposites cheerfulsanguinegenialjovial Word family Derived forms atrabiliousness Related forms atrabiliarybilebilious Etymology AI details From Latin atra bilis ('black bile') + -ous, from ater ('black') + bilis ('bile'), reflecting the humoral theory linking excess black bile to melancholy. ater Latin bilis Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # atrabilious **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˌætrəˈbɪliəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌætrəˈbɪliəs/ ## Meanings 1. melancholy, gloomy, or bad-tempered ## Examples - The atrabilious clerk scowled at every customer who entered. ## Synonyms - melancholy - gloomy - morose - splenetic - ill-tempered - atrabiliary - bilious - sullen ## Antonyms - cheerful - sanguine - genial - jovial ## Derived Forms - atrabiliousness ## Related Forms - atrabiliary - bile - bilious ## Roots and Affixes - Root: ater - Root: bilis ## Etymology From Latin atra bilis ('black bile') + -ous, from ater ('black') + bilis ('bile'), reflecting the humoral theory linking excess black bile to melancholy. ## AI Etymology Atrabilious is from Latin atra bilis ('black bile') + -ous, from ater ('black') + bilis ('bile'), reflecting the humoral theory linking excess black bile to melancholy. In present-day use, it means melancholy, gloomy, or bad-tempered. Derived formations include atrabiliousness. Related vocabulary includes atrabiliary, bile, and bilious. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown