blues

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /bluːz/ UK /bluːz/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like bruise /l/ vs /r/

Meanings

1

noun
a mood of melancholy; a melancholic African-American musical genre

She played the blues on her battered guitar late into the night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a mood of melancholy; a... melancholy depression gloom sadness despondency dejection doldrums

Opposites

joy elation cheer

Word family

Derived forms bluesy

Related forms blue

Etymology

A shortening of 'blue devils' ('despondency, low spirits,' 18th century); the musical sense developed in early-20th-century African-American culture. Blue is from Old French bleu, of Germanic origin.

blue English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# blues

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bluːz/
**IPA (UK):** /bluːz/

## Meanings
1. a mood of melancholy; a melancholic African-American musical genre

## Examples
- She played the blues on her battered guitar late into the night.

## Synonyms
- melancholy
- depression
- gloom
- sadness
- despondency
- dejection
- doldrums

## Antonyms
- joy
- elation
- cheer

## Derived Forms
- bluesy

## Related Forms
- blue

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: blue

## Etymology
A shortening of 'blue devils' ('despondency, low spirits,' 18th century); the musical sense developed in early-20th-century African-American culture. Blue is from Old French bleu, of Germanic origin.

## AI Etymology
Blues is a shortening of 'blue devils' ('despondency, low spirits,' 18th century); the musical sense developed in early-20th-century African-American culture. Blue is from Old French bleu, of Germanic origin. In present-day use, it means a mood of melancholy; a melancholic African-American musical genre. Derived formations include bluesy. Related vocabulary includes blue.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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