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.
The attacks were "sad and abhorrent", Ramaphosa said, adding that "we in South Africa deeply regret and mourn" the lives lost.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
For something less medieval, the sad suburbanites of HBO’s “DTF St. Louis” might do the trick, or the tragic romance of “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” from FX.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
I’m almost positive this piece existed; and the fact that I couldn’t find any mention of it in the sad, hollowed-out husk of the 2026 internet offers no proof that it didn’t.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
“It’s a sad song, but we sing it anyway,” Hermes reminds us, and it’s a sentiment worth repeating.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
“I paint sad things too. And scary things and lonely things.”
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
One of the ways you can combat SAD is to brighten up your home.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2024
She said there were steps that could be taken if a person suspected they had SAD including changes to lifestyle, such as diet and physical activity.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2023
The current thinking is that SAD is a result of our circadian rhythm becoming desynchronised - directly caused by the decrease in sunlight.
From BBC ● May 17, 2023
Many have suggested light therapy to lessen the effects of SAD, and both Avery and Ades are advocates for its use in treatment.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2022
Cassiopeia expressed her feelings through the use of math problems: Four Minus One Equals SO SAD, for example, or Three Plus One Equals HOORAY.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
The Financial Times's Danny Leigh dished out three stars, saying it paints a "portrait of tech rendering the young both sadder and meaner".
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
He’s a symptom of something older, sadder and far less widespread than the headlines suggest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
A testament to lives cut short, “Rust” is beautifully filmed and all the sadder for it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2025
The world would be a sadder place without Queen's music, John Waters' films, and Andy Warhol's paintings.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2025
The next one was sadder, and I imagined she’d sent it after my grandfather had failed to write for a while.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Anton Du Beke, who was her partner on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, said he was devastated , which he called the "saddest of news".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Also read: Running out of money is not the saddest retirement mistake you can make.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
It’s the first ingredient in what I believe is television’s saddest picnic — and one of its most beautiful meals.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
“I’ve been going back and forth on what the saddest song on the record is, but I think this one might be it,” Rodrigo said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
But at school one of his teachers had said, “Christmas is the time to think about people who are lonely. For somebody living all alone, Christmas can be the saddest time of the year.”
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
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.
