sad

[ sad ]

/ sæd /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for sad on Thesaurus.com

adjective, sad·der, sad·dest.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR sad

1 unhappy, despondent, disconsolate, discouraged, gloomy, downcast, downhearted, depressed, dejected, melancholy.

See synonyms for sad on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR sad

1 happy.

See antonyms for sad on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of sad

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

OTHER WORDS FROM sad

sad·ly, adverbsad·ness, noun

Other definitions for sad (2 of 3)

SAD

seasonal affective disorder.

Other definitions for sad (3 of 3)

sād

[ sahd ]

/ sɑd /

noun

the 14th letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Origin of sād

From Arabic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sad in a sentence

Old age is the saddest and rarest way to go; I witnessed it only once.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fated to die in the end like all the others he describes himself as “the saddest man in the world… infinitely sad.”
How Hitch & Amis Discovered Evil In My House|Peter Foges|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For smokers to feel good safely, sellers have to become Al Bundys of Bud, salesmen of the saddest sort.
Weed Gave My Family Everything—Then Took It Away|Abby Haglage|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The saddest thing for LaSalvia was that he had so much hope for the GOP after the 2012 election.
The Gay Conservative Quitting the GOP Over ‘Bigotry’|Ben Jacobs|January 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Glee's tribute to Monteith was one of its saddest and best episodes.
The Deaths You Missed This Year|Malcolm Jones, Jimmy So, Michael Moynihan, Caitlin Dickson|December 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A smile, the saddest ever seen, wandered for a minute over the prisoner's pallid lips.
The Circular Study|Anna Katharine Green
The saddest feature of the suicide situation is the increasing number of the children who commit suicide.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
The saddest fault he is chargeable with, his abandonment of Angela, has been already committed.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, Number 414, April, 1850|Various
The saddest thing among these social and political evils was a great decline of religious life.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume II|John Lord
The saddest figure in tenement-house life is the unmarried woman who can no longer work and is dependent.
The Leaven in a Great City|Lillian William Betts

British Dictionary definitions for sad (1 of 2)

sad

/ (sæd) /

adjective sadder or saddest

feeling sorrow; unhappy

causing, suggestive, or expressive of such feelingsa sad story

unfortunate; unsatisfactory; shabby; deplorableher clothes were in a sad state

British informal ludicrously contemptible; pathetiche'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

NZ to express sadness or displeasure strongly

Derived forms of sad

sadly, adverbsadness, noun

Word Origin for sad

Old English sæd weary; related to Old Norse sathr, Gothic saths, Latin satur, satis enough

British Dictionary definitions for sad (2 of 2)

SAD

abbreviation for

seasonal affective disorder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012