affected by unhappiness or grief; sorrowful or mournful.
to feel sad because a close friend has moved away.
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.
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
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
From Arabic
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Once it was a sad sight for him, a reminder that vacation was ending.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
"There are people who are very sad, powerless because they couldn't get their pets out," Kolster says.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
“This evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people, very traumatic for our community,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2026
"We convey our deepest condolences to the families of those who have unfortunately passed away in the sad incident at Ras Laffan Industrial City last night," the embassy said in a post on X.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
Finally, Claire’s face changed: her mouth relaxed, and her eyes got smaller and kind of sad.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
