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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

• agonizingly
• bitterly
• dolefully
• dolorously
• grievously
• hard
• hardly
• inconsolably
• lugubriously
• mournfully
• painfully
• plaintively
• regretfully
• resentfully
• ruefully
• sorely
• sorrowfully
• unhappily
• wailfully
• woefully
• wretchedly

Examples of sadly in a Sentence

sadly she told us how her dog died

Recent Examples on the Web

Plus, anthropology professor Belinda’s academic career prospects are sadly limited too, in a hostile field that doesn’t always prioritize the most deserving. —Tomris Laffly, Variety, 5 Sep. 2024

The addition of Dalvin Cook doesn’t excite me much either sadly. —Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 4 Sep. 2024

His loved ones immediately took action but were sadly unable to rescue him. —Jennifer Edwards Baker, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2024

The Olympics are sadly over, but EW still spent this week going for gold: first with our exclusive reveal of the inaugural Golden Bachelorette cast on Tuesday and then our cover story with star Joan Vassos, who took us behind the scenes of her quest for a late-in-life love. —Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1