saturnine

[ sat-er-nahyn ]

adjective

1. sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.
2. suffering from lead poisoning, as a person.
3. due to absorption of lead, as bodily disorders.

saturnine

/ ˌsætəˈnɪnɪtɪ; ˈsætəˌnaɪn /

adjective

1. having a gloomy temperament; taciturn
2. archaic.
   1. of or relating to lead
   2. having or symptomatic of lead poisoning

Derived Forms

• saturninity, noun
• ˈsaturˌninely, adverb

Other Words From

• satur·ninely adverb
• satur·nineness sat·ur·nin·i·ty [sat-er-, nin, -i-tee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of saturnine¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin sāturnīnus ( Saturn, -ine ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of saturnine¹

C15: from French saturnin, from Medieval Latin sāturnīnus (unattested), from Latin Sāturnus Saturn, with reference to the gloomy influence attributed to the planet Saturn

Example Sentences

Cool-kid chefs turning local bounty into Michelin-worthy dishes, an artisan whisky boom and a clutch of stylish hotels have helped Scotland shrug off its saturnine image and rebrand as a misty, moody mecca.

From New York Times

Waters emerged as its new, more saturnine leader.

From New York Times

But even in that calm gloom, my eyes slowly acclimated to the 14 grandly saturnine paintings, made by Mark Rothko in the late 1960s.

From New York Times

Whatever might come, this would not be a tenure of earth tones and lethargy and saturnine expressions.

From New York Times

Really, though, he’s Bill Murray in a Wes Anderson film, which is to say the ideal grown-up, an embodiment of impish, saturnine charm and eccentric integrity.

From New York Times