sadly
Americanadverb
Usage
What does sadly mean? Sadly means in an unhappy, sorrowful, or regretful way, as in Whenever my dog looks at me sadly, I can’t help but cuddle him. Sadly is frequently used to mean unfortunately, as in Sadly, he could not make the game today. This usage often gives a more emotional or sympathetic tone to a statement. It’s often used for disappointments, excuses, reports of loss, and any other scenario where something could be upsetting to the listener or reader. Example: We report sadly that we were unable to reach our financial goals this quarter.
Etymology
Origin of sadly
Explanation
When something is done sadly, it happens in a downhearted, unhappy way. You can speak sadly, hang your head sadly, or even smile sadly to convey how melancholy you're truly feeling. Sad means unhappy or sorrowful, so if the adverb sadly describes someone's actions, they're feeling down in the dumps. The Old English root of both words originally meant "full or sated with food," and later came to describe a heaviness that remains in the word sadly. It's also used to mean "unfortunately" or "it is a sad fact that," so you might say, "Sadly, chess club is canceled for the foreseeable future."
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.
"I asked my barrister, is this normal? And he said, 'sadly, yes'. It was astonishing really," he says.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2020
What does Miss Kennedy mean by this: 'sadly lacking in order, and wants more application'?
From For the School Colours by Brazil, Angela
We read that marvellous sermon which the week-day preacher delivered to entranced thousands over old John Sedley’s dead body, and ‘sadly fell our Christmas Eve.’
From English Caricaturists and Graphic Humourists of the Nineteenth Century. How they Illustrated and Interpreted their Times. by Everitt, Graham
On literature and literary subjects he is certainly ‘sadly to seek.’
From Reviews by Wilde, Oscar
Then Psyche, uplifting her finger, Said, 'sadly this star I mistrust, Its pallor I strangely mistrust.
From Visions and Revisions A Book of Literary Devotions by Powys, John Cowper
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.
