melancholy

/ˈmɛlənkəli/

//ˈmɛlənkəli// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"melancholy" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“melancholy” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,414. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,414
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.

Corpus desk

Index EN-melancholy · melancholy · English

melancholy · rank #17,414 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,414
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mei

Nearest frequency peer: Mei (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “melancholy”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “melancholy” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

melancholy vs melancholic
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for melancholy
PropertyValue
Headwordmelancholy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɛlənkəli/
Letters10
Frequency rank#17,414
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “melancholy” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). melancholy lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around melancholy (IPA /ˈmɛlənkəli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,414 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for melancholy, with forms such as "emlancholy", "mealncholy", and "melacnholy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "melancholic", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English malencolie, from Old French melancolie, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía, “atrabiliousness”), from μέλας (mélas), μελαν- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). Compare the Latin ātra bīlis (“black bile”). The ad… The correct English form is melancholy, spelled M-E-L-A-N-C-H-O-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.
  2. 2
    Great sadness or depression, especially of a thoughtful or introspective nature.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how melancholy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Melancholy, cold and dry, thick, black, and sour, […] is a bridle to the other two hot humours, blood and choler, preserving them in the blood, and nourishing the bones.
  2. My mind was troubled with deep melancholy.

Etymology

From Middle English malencolie, from Old French melancolie, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía, “atrabiliousness”), from μέλας (mélas), μελαν- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). Compare the Latin ātra bīlis (“black bile”). The adjectival use is a Middle English innovation, perhaps influenced by the suffixes -y, -ly. Doublet of melancholia.

This word in other languages

melancolía(Español)mélancolie(Français)Melancholie(Deutsch)melancolia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emlancholy
  • mealncholy
  • melacnholy
  • melanccholy
  • melanchholy
  • melanchloy
  • melancholly
  • melancholyy
  • melanchoyl
  • melancohly
  • melanhcoly
  • melanncholy
  • mellancholy
  • melnacholy
  • mleancholy
  • mmelancholy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of melancholy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

emlancholy2mealncholy2melacnholy2melanccholy1melanchholy1melanchloy2melancholly1melancholyy1
Edit distance from "melancholy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "melancholy"?
"melancholy" is spelled M-E-L-A-N-C-H-O-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɛlənkəli/.
What does "melancholy" mean?
As a noun, "melancholy" means: Black bile, formerly thought to be one of the four "cardinal humours" of animal bodies.
What words are commonly confused with "melancholy"?
"melancholy" is commonly confused with "melancholic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "melancholy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "melancholy" is /ˈmɛlənkəli/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "melancholy"?
From Middle English malencolie, from Old French melancolie, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía, “atrabiliousness”), from μέλας (mélas), μελαν- (melan-, “black, dark, murky”) + χολή (kholḗ, “bile”). Compare the Latin ātra bīlis (“black bile... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "melancholy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Madagascar#17,405negligible#17,426obligatory#17,429inhibition#17,388

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

counterfeit16 variantsconditioner16 variantscondemning16 variantstroublesome16 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "melancholy". Here's where to go from here.

  • This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "melancholic". View pair
  • 16 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #17,414 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list