1225–75; Middle English < Old French ( h ) a las!, equivalent to ( h ) a ah + las wretched < Latin lassus weary; cf. alack
Alas is another way to emphatically say “unfortunately.” Perhaps you meant to finish up all your homework last night, but alas, your favorite television show wound up getting your undivided attention instead. Letting out a breathy alas in the middle of your sentence may sound dramatic or old fashioned, but it's actually an excellent way to emphasize extreme bewilderment, regret, concern, or woe. Once an expression of weariness rather than grief, alas stems from the Latin lassus, meaning “tired, weary.” Exclaimed Lord Byron, the English poet, “Alas! The love of women! It is known to be a lovely and fearful thing!”
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This is the case even if you have the Patreon app, which I downloaded in hopes it would get around the PDF, but alas.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
The answer, alas, is not much—at least not much that is likely to have an effect on the Iranian leaders’ behavior.
From Slate • May 11, 2026
They show only what markets did during the period studied — so, alas, there are no perfect guarantees.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
In Los Angeles, alas, we were, last spring, a city of cinders.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
“We were not blessed with babes, alas, and that is to my regret,” she said with a sigh.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
