triste
Mournful in Paris
Triste is a borrowed word meaning sad, melancholy, or wistful.
It appears in English texts when writers want a softer, more poetic shade of sadness than English readily offers: a triste little melody, the triste beauty of autumn.
The word retains its French or Spanish flavor and sounds affected in casual speech.
Emotionally low
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- sorrowfulFilled with grief
- wistfulSadly longing for something
- mournfulShowing or feeling grief
forlorn · gloomy · dejected · despondent · heartbroken · tearful · somber · downcast
Native speaker of French
- borrowedTaken for temporary use
- affectedArtificially contrived behavior
- continentalOf a continent
- EuropeanFrom that continent
Gallic · romantic · poetic · melancholy · sophisticated · cultivated · refined · aesthetic
Inclined toward reflective sorrow
- bittersweetWistful yet warm
- elegiacSorrowfully commemorative
- poignantEvoking keen emotion
- romanticConducive to love
nostalgic · lament · dirge · requiem · blues · fado · tango · ballad
French decadent poet
- romanticConducive to love
- symbolistUser of representational imagery
- fin-de-siecleLate 19th-century weariness
- decadentSelf-indulgent, often corruptly
ennui · spleen · languor · malaise · gothic · brooding · introspective · existential
sad
Emotionally low
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- sorrowfulFilled with grief
- wistfulSadly longing for something
mournful · forlorn · gloomy · dejected · despondent · heartbroken · tearful · somber · downcast · blue
francophone
Native speaker of French
- borrowedTaken for temporary use
- affectedArtificially contrived behavior
- continentalOf a continent
European · Gallic · romantic · poetic · melancholy · sophisticated · cultivated · refined · aesthetic · artistic
melancholic
Inclined toward reflective sorrow
- bittersweetWistful yet warm
- elegiacSorrowfully commemorative
- poignantEvoking keen emotion
romantic · nostalgic · lament · dirge · requiem · blues · fado · tango · ballad · nocturne
Baudelaire
French decadent poet
- romanticConducive to love
- symbolistUser of representational imagery
- fin-de-siecleLate 19th-century weariness
decadent · ennui · spleen · languor · malaise · gothic · brooding · introspective · existential · Chopin