sadly

adverb

sad·​ly ˈsad-lē How to pronounce sadly (audio)
1
: in a sad manner : in a way that shows sadness or unhappiness
They spoke sadly of their loss.
She shook her head sadly.
He walked away sadly.
2
: in a way that causes feelings of sadness, disappointment, or regret
a garden that has been sadly neglected for many years
What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.Sue Grafton
The Greek populations of these great cities are now sadly diminished or gone altogether, leaving them much duller places.Robert Fox
3
: unfortunately
used to say that something is sad, unfortunate, or regrettable
Sadly, you can upload a perfectly working website today and return a few months later to find that many of its external links have died off.Matthew MacDonald
Is there a way to get the virus out of an afflicted cat's system? "Sadly, no," says Dr. [James] Richards.Tom Ewing

Examples of sadly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Our runs together in the park have sadly come to an end. Marie Myung-Ok Lee, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024 One of the interpreters who has assisted Hall says the friction Deaf workers encounter is sadly unsurprising. Paresh Dave, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024 And for the rest of his career, one sadly truncated by his drug use, Evans would pursue the trio format with subtle lyrical passion. James Kaplan, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2024 In a sadly ironic twist, Beverly Hills, 90210’s upcoming Fox reboot was announced the very day of Perry’s stroke. Aili Nahas, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 As a person of Indian descent and one of the (sadly) few AAPI leaders in music, knowing that someone with my same cultural background succeeded in this role was beyond inspiring. Dan Rys, Billboard, 4 Mar. 2024 Interestingly – and perhaps sadly – none of them will materially affect the aforementioned existential issues that have come to define California in the 21st century. Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 Expand All All good things must come to an end, and Mythos nightclub, one of Charlotte’s greats, was sadly no exception. Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 15 Feb. 2024 But sadly, for the last decade or so, Cyrus's tiffs haven't been the fun, intra-celebrity kind, but the personal, family kind. Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sadly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sadly was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near sadly

Cite this Entry

“Sadly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sadly. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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