saturnine
pronunciation
How to pronounce saturnine in British English:
UK [ˈsætənaɪn]
How to pronounce saturnine in American English:
US [ˈsætərnaɪn]
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- Adjective:
- bitter or scornful
- showing a brooding ill humor
Word Origin
- saturnine (adj.)
- "gloomy, morose, sluggish, grave," mid-15c., literally "born under the influence of the planet Saturn," from Middle English Saturne (see Saturn) + -ine (1). Medieval physiology believed these characteristics to be caused by the astrological influence of the planet Saturn, which was the most remote from the Sun (in the limited knowledge of the times) and thus coldest and slowest in its revolution.
Example
- 1. Just how bad is the saturnine hogwarts professor ?
- 2. The saturnine faces of the judges .
- 3. A saturnine expression on his face .
- 4. How evil he looked ? The face was saturnine and swarthy , and the sensual lips seemed to be twisted with disdain .
- 5. My former roommate was a saturnine scholar who said very little and smiled rarely .