sad
adjective
affected by unhappiness or grief; sorrowful or mournful.
sad
1 American
[sad]
/ sæd /
adjective
-
sadder,
comparative
-
saddest
superlative
-
affected by unhappiness or grief; sorrowful or mournful.
to feel sad because a close friend has moved away.
- Synonyms:
- melancholy, dejected, depressed, downhearted, downcast, gloomy, discouraged, disconsolate, despondent, unhappy
- Antonyms:
- happy
-
expressive of or characterized by sorrow.
sad looks;
a sad song.
-
causing sorrow.
a sad disappointment;
sad news.
-
(of color) somber, dark, or dull; drab.
-
deplorably bad; sorry.
a sad attempt.
-
Obsolete. firm or steadfast.
sād
2
American
[sahd]
/ sɑd /
noun
SAD
3
American
sad
1
British
/ sæd /
adjective
-
feeling sorrow; unhappy
-
causing, suggestive, or expressive of such feelings
a sad story
-
unfortunate; unsatisfactory; shabby; deplorable
her clothes were in a sad state
-
informal ludicrously contemptible; pathetic
he's a sad, boring little wimp
-
(of pastry, cakes, etc) not having risen fully; heavy
-
(of a colour) lacking brightness; dull or dark
-
archaic serious; grave
verb
SAD
2
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sad1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English sæd “grave, heavy, weary,” originally “sated, full”; cognate with German satt, Gothic saths “full, satisfied”; akin to Latin satis “enough,” satur “sated,” Greek hádēn “enough.” See satiate, saturate
Origin of sād2
From Arabic
Explanation
When you're sad, you feel unhappy. If you've ever experienced the death of a pet you loved deeply, you know exactly what it means to feel sad. You might use the adjective sad informally to describe something that's pathetic or that you feel scornful or disdainful about. For example, you might comment on your friend's elaborate homemade hat by saying, "That hat is just sad," though it wouldn't be very nice of you to say it. The term "sad sack" became popular during World War II and has been used ever since to refer to an incompetent, slightly pitiful person.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Social isolation and loneliness - the sad thing is in rural communities, people don't always like to talk about that and acknowledge that," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Given the spatial finesse of the lobby below, it is sad to find the utilitarian treatment of a box store or trade show above the museum’s most important objects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Like that gutted TV cabinet, his sad eyes are a window into the sensitive boy inside the grown man.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
I was as sad as I was furious.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
“This meeting can do nothing further to save the country,” the man in front said, his voice heavy and sad.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
And we know that SAD has a big impact on the stock market.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
One study, “Seasonal Asset Allocation: Evidence from Mutual Fund Flows,” found a strong inverse correlation between the stock market and SAD.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
One of the ways you can combat SAD is to brighten up your home.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2024
Sufferers of SAD will find depressive symptoms emerging as the days shorten and waning as spring approaches.
From BBC ● May 17, 2023
A common first symptom of SAD is the belief that one hears children’s voices in one’s head.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
Navarrete kept calm even as the stories she heard grew sadder and sadder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
"We were able to find the body; some people couldn't. And that seems even sadder to me," she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
And even sadder to see globalization tossed aside like last year’s toy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
"Nothing can make me sadder, or diminish my value more than losing my dad, one of my best mates and the rock of our family."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
It was sadder than Mr. Levy had thought at first.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
The best documented and maybe saddest story is that of a bear named “Monarch.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Anton Du Beke, who was her partner on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, said he was devastated , which he called the "saddest of news".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Also read: Running out of money is not the saddest retirement mistake you can make.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
It’s the first ingredient in what I believe is television’s saddest picnic — and one of its most beautiful meals.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
The man tipped his head at them and kept playing, something that sounded like the saddest love song ever.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
