unhappy

adjective

un·​hap·​py ˌən-ˈha-pē 

1

: not fortunate : unlucky

an unhappy coincidence

2

: not cheerful or glad : sad, wretched

3

a

: causing or subject to misfortune : inauspicious

b

: infelicitous, inappropriate

an unhappy choice

unhappiness noun

Synonyms

• sad
• depressed
• miserable
• heartbroken
• bad
• upset
• sorry
• worried
• melancholy
• disappointed

Examples of unhappy in a Sentence

I can see that he's unhappy, but I don't know why.

I've never seen her looking so unhappy.

For three unhappy days we were all stuck in the house because of the blizzard.

an unhappy choice of career

The movie's hero meets an unhappy fate.

Recent Examples on the Web

This gives the creditor an additional target to pursue and make very unhappy which can indirectly put pressure on the debtor to pay the judgment. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025

Circulation increased and the publication won two Pulitzer Prizes, but the owner, conservative Harry Guggenheim, was unhappy with the paper’s shift to the left, and he and Moyers were divided over the Vietnam War and the 1968 presidential election. —Carmel Dagan, Variety, 26 June 2025

While some die-hard Iron Man fans have been unhappy to see another Iron hero in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr. has made his position clear. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 24 June 2025

Recent polls will have made for unhappy reading for President Donald Trump, and a new survey suggests that his approval ratings have slipped again. —Chloe Mayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for unhappy

• chappie
• happy
• nappy
• pappy
• sappy
• scrappy
• snappy

Kids Definition

unhappy

adjective

un·​hap·​py ˌən-ˈhap-ē 

1

: not fortunate : unlucky

an unhappy mistake

2

: not cheerful : sad

3

: inappropriate

an unhappy color combination

unhappily

-ˈhap-ə-lē

adverb

unhappiness

-ˈhap-i-nəs

noun