sadness
Americannoun
-
the quality or state of being sad; sorrow.
It’s frustrating to know the sadness you’re feeling and not be able to help you.
-
an instance of sorrow.
How can you be so unaware of the sadnesses these children have experienced?
Etymology
Origin of sadness
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sadnesse; sad ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )
Explanation
Someone who's blue feels sadness, like a little girl whose best friend has moved away. Use the noun sadness when you're talking about sorrow. Sadness may be the overwhelming mood at a funeral, for example, or an elderly man might describe his life's greatest sadness as letting his childhood sweetheart get away. An interesting thing about sadness is that its original meaning was "seriousness." It wasn't until the 1600s that it came to mean "full of sorrow."
Vocabulary lists containing sadness
Obama's speech at Connecticut vigil
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ness
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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.
There is a great sadness in this book and also the occasional miraculous story of couples finding each other or of parents discovering a child who survived.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
John Pye Auctions said on Tuesday it was with "great sadness" it announced the death of co-founder John Pye at the age of 95.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
They also uncovered the first evidence that dogs can tell apart several negative expressions, including anger, sadness, and fear.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
"I hope to find them in good health," the woman says, unable to hide her sadness.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Clare felt, even from where he stood, that he could see a great well of sadness in her eyes.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
