Interjection
Juliet's pitiful lament, “alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead!”.
Recent Examples on the Web
Interjection
But the number of ways that these salmon adjacent dials are made is varied and, alas, also confusing.—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 13 May 2024 Aura doesn’t appear in reports from any of these labs, alas.—PCMAG, 30 Apr. 2024 Such is life with President Biden amid a darkening international scene that, alas, has not changed one bit.—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 30 Mar. 2024 The works at Tiffany are, alas, not for sale — they have been purchased, commissioned, or borrowed by the company — but there is a robust history of department stores hawking art.—Andrew Russeth, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024 Editor’s picks But alas, Showtime! is determined to exhibit that Peach herself has a life outside of the plumber brothers.—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2024 In fact, alas, the word derives from ancient Greek, from polites, which means citizen and itself comes from polis, meaning city or community.—CBS News, 23 Mar. 2024 But alas, the game also plays like something from days past.—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024 San Juan Capistrano, meanwhile, has been on the generous-arts-benefactors list for decades — but alas.—Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 4 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alas.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Interjection
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from a ah + las weary, from Latin lassus — more at lassitude
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