doldrums

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noun

A feeling or spell of dismally low spirits: blues, dejection, depression, despondence, despondency, dolefulness, downheartedness, dumps, dysphoria, funk, gloom, glumness, heavy-heartedness, melancholy, mope (used in plural), mournfulness, sadness, unhappiness. See feelings, happy/unhappy.

n

Definition: depression
Antonyms: elation, gladness, glee, happiness, joy

Those regions of light, variable winds, low pressure, and high temperature and humidity which occur in tropical and subtropical latitudes.

Doldrums occur over the east Pacific, the east Atlantic and from the Indian Ocean to the west Pacific. They are bounded to the north and south by the trade winds, and their extent varies greatly with the seasons.

With America's economy in the doldrums and unemployment rising, many people have suggested that it may be time for President Obama to resurrect the WPA — Works Projects Administration. A program designed to put Americans back to work, it employed hundreds of thousands of semi-skilled and unskilled laborers, not to mention writers, artists and performers. Bridges, parks, roads and public buildings were built; sculptures, murals and paintings were produced and art galleries were opened. On this date in 1935, Congress authorized a $4.8-billion expenditure by the US federal government, the most expensive and wide-spread relief program in American history.

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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, April 8, 2009

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Equatorial region with a bad reputation for thunderstorms
The region of low pressure over the oceans at the equator is named the Intratropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) or doldrums and is known mostly for its dead calms and light, fluctuating winds. But it is also capable of producing heavy rains and thunderstorms.The trade winds blow toward the equator from either side and diminish there to form a doldrum belt with an average width of between 200 and 300 miles. This belt is biased toward the Northern Hemisphere, being located between the equator and 7°N in February and between 5°N and 12°N in July at its greatest breadth. That breadth varies considerably, being widest on the eastern shores of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.If you’re lucky, and especially if you’re near the western edge of the doldrums, your sailboat might pass through the region from one trade-wind belt to the other without a hitch. But it’s more likely that you’ll have to take advantage of every squall and fitful breeze to get through, under sail alone, in a week at best.This is what the famous British yachtsman, Eric Hiscock, has to say about the doldrums in Voyaging Under Sail: “I am glad to have had the opportunity of making a passage through the doldrums under sail, for I feel that is an experience which every sailor-man ought to have once in his lifetime, so that he may learn to be patient and appreciate some of the difficulties with which his forefathers had to contend. But once is enough, and if I ever have to pass through that area of calms, squalls, heat, and rain again, I hope to have an engine of useful power and a plentiful supply of fuel for it.”See also Trade Winds.

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IN BRIEF: When plural, a state of listlessness or despondency; in singular, only archaic: Sluggish and slow-witted person.

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Regions of calm, light variable winds and thunderstorms girdling the ocean near the equator and varying in extent and position according to the season. The doldrums lie between the northeasterly tradewinds of the Northern Hemisphere and the southwesterly tradewinds of the Southern Hemisphere, roughly between latitudes 10°N and 10°S. Air heated at the earth’s surface rises in the doldrums region and flows northeastward and southwest-ward at heights from 0.8 to 6 km to form anti-tradewinds. The doldrums are low-pressure calm latitudes and the horse latitudes are high-pressure calm latitudes.

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For a list of words related to doldrums, see:

• Earth’s Atmosphere and Topographic Features - doldrums: low-pressure region near equator
• Agitation, Abnormality, and Instability - doldrums: spell of inactivity or depression

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See words rhyming with "doldrums."

Dansk (Danish)
n. pl. - dårligt humør, depression, stagnation, kalmebæltet

idioms:

• in the doldrums    deprimeret

Nederlands (Dutch)
neerslachtigheid, stilstand, het stilliggen van een schip, stiltegordel

Français (French)
n. pl. - zone des calmes équatoriaux, calme équatorial (temps)

idioms:

• in the doldrums    (fig) avoir le cafard, broyer du noir, être dans le marasme (affaire)

Deutsch (German)
n. pl. - Niedergeschlagenheit, Trübsinn, Kalmengürtel

idioms:

• in the doldrums    in Sack und Asche, (mar.) ohne Wind

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. pl. - νηνεμία, απανεμιά, απραξία, αναδουλειές, (ναυτ.) ισημερινές νηνεμίες

idioms:

• in the doldrums    άκεφος, στις κακές μου

Italiano (Italian)
idioms:

• in the doldrums    di umor nero

Português (Portuguese)
n. pl. - melancolia (f), zona (f) de calmaria

idioms:

• in the doldrums    sentir tristeza

Русский (Russian)
зона экваториальных штилей, хандра

idioms:

• in the doldrums    хандрить

Español (Spanish)
n. pl. - zona de las calmas, calmas ecuatoriales, depresión

idioms:

• in the doldrums    estar deprimido, estar de capa caída

Svenska (Swedish)
n. pl. - stiltje, geog. kalmområden

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
忧闷, 意志消沉

idioms:

• in the doldrums    亳无生气, 无精打采

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. pl. - 憂悶, 意志消沈

idioms:

• in the doldrums    亳無生氣, 無精打采

한국어 (Korean)
n. pl. - 열대 무풍대, 침울함, 정체기

idioms:

• in the doldrums    우울해 있다, 무풍대에 들어가다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 無風帯, 憂鬱, ふさぎ込み

idioms:

• in the doldrums    ふさぎ込んで, 沈滞状態で

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الجمع) أجزاء من المحيط بجانب خط الاستواء يتميز برياحه الساكنه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. pl. - ‮חוסר-פעילות, דכדוך, קפיאה על השמרים‬

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