sad
adjective
affected by unhappiness or grief; sorrowful or mournful.
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sad
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Acronyms dictionary results for SAD
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sad
1 American
[sad]
/ sæd /
adjective
sadder,
saddest
-
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
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.
"We're just very sad that Stephen's leaving, and it's just going to leave a big hole in America," Sarah Thompson told the BBC.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Evan Masterson, a 23-year-old in Brooklyn, argued that was “a sad way to look at the world.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
"We're a bunch of oldies, but everyone gets stressed, everyone suffers loss and gets sad, everyone's happy, everyone has people in their life they love and people who annoy them," Forte said.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Metaxas’s sad attempt to rewrite recent history is fitting.
From Salon • May 20, 2026
"I'm afraid he doesn't have a pet," Mrs. Krupnik said to the librarian in a sad voice.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
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.
