sad
- 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.
Origin of sad
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
Related Words
wistfully, sorrowfully, dejectedly, dismally, dolefully, gloomily, grievously, moroselyExamples from the Web for sadly
Contemporary Examples
Sadly, it appears the American press often doesn't need any outside help when it comes to censoring themselves.
Having finally seen Selma on November 17, I must report, sadly, that I do not share the enthusiasm the film has generated so far.
Sadly, the world will never see the realization of those skills.
Sadly, this choice between growth and climate change may not be necessary.
Sadly, laws throughout the Middle East—from North Africa to the Gulf—limit the rights of religious minorities and non-believers.
Historical Examples
But Andrew flung himself out of the saddle and came to them sadly.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
Mrs. Weston sadly missed her young friend after his departure.
Life in LondonEdwin Hodder
"I have only my fiddle in the world, and I cannot give that away," he said sadly, after thinking a while.
Rico and WiseliJohanna Spyri
They both stood side by side, looking at her earnestly and sadly.
The DreamEmile Zola
She has been sadly neglected, however, and her mother ought to remember it.
Lady SusanJane Austen
SAD
- seasonal affective disorder
sad
- 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
- NZ to express sadness or displeasure strongly
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for sadly
sad
adj.
Old English sæd "sated, full, having had one's fill (of food, drink, fighting, etc.), weary of," from Proto-Germanic *sathaz (cf. Old Norse saðr, Middle Dutch sat, Dutch zad, Old High German sat, German satt, Gothic saþs "satiated, sated, full"), from PIE *seto- (cf. Latin satis "enough, sufficient," Greek hadros "thick, bulky," Old Church Slavonic sytu, Lithuanian sotus "satiated," Old Irish saith "satiety," sathach "sated"), from root *sa- "to satisfy" (cf. Sanskrit a-sinvan "insatiable").
Sense development passed through the meaning "heavy, ponderous" (i.e. "full" mentally or physically), and "weary, tired of" before emerging c.1300 as "unhappy." An alternative course would be through the common Middle English sense of "steadfast, firmly established, fixed" (e.g. sad-ware "tough pewter vessels") and "serious" to "grave." In the main modern sense, it replaced Old English unrot, negative of rot "cheerful, glad."
Meaning "very bad" is from 1690s. Slang sense of "inferior, pathetic" is from 1899; sad sack is 1920s, popularized by World War II armed forces (specifically by cartoon character invented by Sgt. George Baker, 1942, and published in U.S. Armed Forces magazine "Yank"), probably a euphemistic shortening of common military slang phrase sad sack of shit.
SAD
- seasonal affective disorder