sad
1 Americanadjective
-
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.
noun
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
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
- sadly adverb
- sadness noun
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
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.
On the night of March 19, 2003, I sat at home watching the news — tense, sad and angry.
From Salon
“It is a sad commentary when a strike in two states can knock that last leg out.”
From Barron's
“It’s kind of sad,” he sings, “but there’s something I know / Too many things for you to analyze.”
From Salon
"And his mother and father were born in Womengo. Their mothers and fathers were born in Womengo. It is sad that we will not see our village ever again."
From Literature
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“I’m happy, but I’m also sad,” the 24-year-old says about her final year as a Bruin, adding, “It’s pretty cool to know that my dream school has become my legacy.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.