sadly

adverb

sad·​ly ˈsad-lē 

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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

Synonyms

• bitterly
• sorrowfully
• painfully
• mournfully
• regretfully
• hard

Examples of sadly in a Sentence

sadly she told us how her dog died

Recent Examples on the Web

While Wohl’s script is packed to the brim with thoughtful moments of beauty, comedy, and heartbreak, Liberation wouldn’t be nearly as affecting and, sadly, relatable without its stellar cast. —Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025

Mitnaul said that sadly, animals being left behind in properties is not uncommon. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025

Panicking your way into poor decisions off the back of a few bad results is, sadly, how the managerial merry-go-round often operates. —Mark Carey, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025

Van Halen and company — Jon Jourdan, Frank Sidoris, Ronnie Ficarro and Garrett Whitlock — spent the summer opening for Creed, which sadly meant the group had to bow out of the Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne Back to the Beginning concert during July. —Gary Graff, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sadly

• badly
• gladly
• madly
• comradely