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.
Well, that was long and sad enough to make one miss Ian.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
"It's sad just to see how our world is changing," she concluded.
From Barron's ● 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
While many fans will be sad to see him go, they probably feel it is a deserved move for a player that has contributed so much.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
He heard the soft, sad bubbling of the stream thirty paces away.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The NHS recommends people who think they might have SAD and are struggling to cope see their GP.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
Combined with things such as light therapy, exercise, sleep and a balanced diet, decorating to combat SAD can cheer you up.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 8, 2024
"I can come up here or anywhere feeling quite low, a bit pessimistic, negative, all the things that come with SAD and functioning mentally at 30 to 40%, you know, struggling," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2023
The days are shorter, the nights are dark and full of terrors and you are left, once again, feeling SAD.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2022
A common first symptom of SAD is the belief that one hears children’s voices in one’s head.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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
The old Nigerian-prince emails promised a fortune; the modern romance scam asks for something smaller and sadder: the money to fix a flat tire, the cost of a plane ticket forever about to be booked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
They’re meant to be heartwarming, I know — “Look at these two, who met in the nursing home when their wheelchairs collided coming out of the bingo game!” — but they just make me sadder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
Freeze your leftover brewed coffee into cubes, then drop them into your next glass for a cold brew that gets stronger, not sadder.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2025
“Well,” said Sheed, shaken by this new, sadder Mr. Archie.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
Read: Opinion: Running out of money is not the saddest retirement mistake you can make.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Anton Du Beke, Widdecombe's dance partner on Strictly, said her death was the "saddest of news".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Taix was where I watched the heroic Zinedine Zidane headbutt the gutless Marco Materazzi in the saddest World Cup final ever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
The Washington Nationals have been one of baseball’s saddest franchises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
The coughing was the saddest sound that Edward had ever heard, sadder even than the mournful call of the whippoorwill.
From "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
