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Synonyms

unhappy

American  
[uhn-hap-ee] / ʌnˈhæp i /

adjective

unhappier, unhappiest

  1. sad; miserable; wretched.

    Why is she so unhappy?
    Synonyms:
    distressed, cheerless, downcast, sorrowful

  2. unfortunate; unlucky.

    an unhappy incident.
    Synonyms:
    hapless

  3. unfavorable; inauspicious.

    an unhappy omen.
    Synonyms:
    unpropitious

  4. infelicitous; unsuitable.

    an unhappy choice of words.
    Synonyms:
    inapt, inappropriate

  5. Archaic. causing trouble; reprehensible; troublesome.

unhappy British  
/ ʌnˈhæpɪ /

adjective

  1. not joyful; sad or depressed

  2. unfortunate or wretched

    an unhappy fellow

  3. tactless or inappropriate

    an unhappy remark

  4. archaic unfavourable

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of unhappy

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: “causing misfortune, objectionable”; un- 1 + happy

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.

The original idea was that the president was unhappy with the fact that if you have state dinners, still, at the White House, very often they’ll put tents up on the lawn.

From Slate • May 7, 2026

The romance novelist Carley Fortune went from being unhappy at her 9-to-5 job to selling millions of books.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

"When voters are unhappy, the party in power is usually the one that's held responsible," Sara Sadhwani, a political scientist at Pomona College, told AFP.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

Mourinho, who was also unhappy with the officiating in Saturday's match, said: "This game is a good reflection of what has happened in this championship."

From BBC • May 4, 2026

They were unhappy, too; because in those days, being a sharecropper was just about as bad as being a hog thief.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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.