sadness
Americannoun
-
the quality or state of being sad; sorrow.
It’s frustrating to know the sadness you’re feeling and not be able to help you.
-
an instance of sorrow.
How can you be so unaware of the sadnesses these children have experienced?
Etymology
Origin of sadness
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sadnesse; sad ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )
Explanation
Someone who's blue feels sadness, like a little girl whose best friend has moved away. Use the noun sadness when you're talking about sorrow. Sadness may be the overwhelming mood at a funeral, for example, or an elderly man might describe his life's greatest sadness as letting his childhood sweetheart get away. An interesting thing about sadness is that its original meaning was "seriousness." It wasn't until the 1600s that it came to mean "full of sorrow."
Vocabulary lists containing sadness
Obama's speech at Connecticut vigil
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ness
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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.
"Many people in the community are feeling a mix of sadness, anger, and loss, and I have no intention of adding judgment to anyone."
From BBC • May 9, 2026
Mr. Ferrer’s definitive statement on her life captures both her strength and her sadness: “She never stopped trying on every level to please, to be happy, and to be loved.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Faces in the crowd were filled with gloom and sadness as mourners waited for the Hezbollah-organised ceremony to begin.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
But, in the midst of feeling joyful connection, I also felt sadness nestled next to that joy.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
But my revulsion was mistaken for sadness and the officer didn’t tuck the letter away.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
