sad
adjective
affected by unhappiness or grief; sorrowful or mournful.
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sad
1 American
[sad]
/ sæd /
adjective
-
sadder,
comparative
-
saddest
superlative
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
How much for a sad crate full of Rangegoats windbreakers?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
This decent sequel works very hard to make us feel sad about its mass deaths; the only blood Yamazaki is willing to show is when the injured pack the hospitals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Anne Soffin, a Jewish woman from Grosse Pointe who had known Stevens since she was a child, said she opposed El-Sayed and hadn’t been moved to vote for him—but she found the whole situation sad.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
"We all travelled in silence and really sad," Paloma told me at the city station, where she had just pulled in on a half empty train.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
He had the sad look of a man who’s given up.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
But it’s not the absolute level of SAD that impacts the stock market, but changes from one month’s level to the next.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
SAD and the PSL effect can provide us with some of that rationale.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
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
SAD is about three times more common in women than it is in men, according to The Royal College of Psychiatrists.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2023
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
Or people could generally be sadder than they were before the pandemic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
"We were able to find the body; some people couldn't. And that seems even sadder to me," she said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Nothing is sadder than to watch people stroll past that memorial as if nothing is out of the ordinary, our civic pride and historical perspective crushed under the weight of indifference.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2026
But it became a much stranger, sadder story which almost a decade later is told onscreen in The Artist Who Disappeared.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
As the days went on, many things were harder and sadder, but some things were strangely easier.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
Rather, he sounded like what he was—a damaged, thwarted middle-aged boy soprano, one of the saddest things in the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
I once had a news director who, in the midst of marital issues, carried a guitar from cubicle to cubicle like the world’s saddest bard.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
The best documented and maybe saddest story is that of a bear named “Monarch.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Also read: Running out of money is not the saddest retirement mistake you can make.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
"That's the saddest song I've ever heard!" says Jacob.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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