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.
She and her mum had been "picking each other up" in times of sadness, she said, and she was "so excited" to welcome a baby boy into the family.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
“It’s with great sadness and heartache to announce the passing of my sweet dear Alex Ligertwood, my husband of 25 years, we knew each other for 36 years,” Brogan wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026
But, in the midst of feeling joyful connection, I also felt sadness nestled next to that joy.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
Haiti's prime minister's office expressed "deep sadness" in a government statement posted on Facebook, adding that the crush occurred during "a tourist activity bringing together many young people."
From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026
They shared their hope and strength and sadness.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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.
