Saturnine is far—even astronomically far—from the cheeriest of words. It has a long history of describing the glum and grouchy among us, and comes ultimately from Sāturnus, name of the Roman god of …

Jan 13, 2026 · One of the meanings of the word saturnine is “pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Saturn” (sense 5).

Not being friendly (Definition of saturnine from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

SATURNINE definition: sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn. See examples of saturnine used in a sentence.

saturnine (adj.) "gloomy, morose, sluggish, grave, not readily made excited or cheerful," mid-15c., literally "born under the influence of the planet Saturn," from Middle English Saturne (see Saturn) + …

Define saturnine. saturnine synonyms, saturnine pronunciation, saturnine translation, English dictionary definition of saturnine. adj. 1. Having the temperament of one born under the supposed astrological …

saturnine, adj. & n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

He had ridged black hair and a rather forbidding, saturnine manner, but his smile was warm.

When people are called saturnine, it means they are like the planet — gloomy, mean, scowling. Not exactly the life of the party. Saturnine is a word you don't hear often nowadays, though you probably …

Definition of saturnine adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.