sad

1 of 2

adjective

ˈsad 

sadder; saddest

1

a

: affected with or expressive of grief or unhappiness : downcast

b(1)

: causing or associated with grief or unhappiness : depressing

sad news

(2)

: regrettable, deplorable

… a sad relaxation of morals.

—C. W. Cunnington

c

: of little worth

2

: of a dull somber color

sadness noun

SAD

2 of 2

abbreviation

seasonal affective disorder

Synonyms of sad

Adjective

• unhappy
• heartbroken
• depressed
• miserable
• sorry
• bad
• melancholy
• upset
• worried
• sorrowful

Examples of sad in a Sentence

Adjective

He's feeling sad because his pet died.

People were sad that he was leaving.

The experience left her sadder but wiser.

Have you heard the sad news about his wife's illness?

It'll be a sad day when you leave us.

a movie with a sad ending

He lived a sad life.

The sad fact of the matter is that they are right.

The new version is a sad imitation of the original movie.

We needed more money but, sad to say, there wasn't any.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The sad thing was that within days of becoming an apprentice, he was packed off to hospital for a cartilage operation on a knee that, 10 years later, would bring a permanent end to his career. — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 17 July 2026

The only thing that felt rather bittersweet was that Sega’s people showed Virtua Fighter running on laptops at the end of the event, which, considering the company’s long and storied arcade history, was rather sad to see. — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

When England would lose in 1982 and kid Roger would just feel sad, the final whistle ended. — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026

For Roycemore parent Jessica Risker, the school’s closure is incredibly sad. — Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 16 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old English sæd sated; akin to Old High German sat sated, Latin satis enough

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing sad

• poor/sad/sorry excuse for
• sad sack

Rhymes for sad

• ad
• add
• bad
• brad
• cad
• clad
• dad
• fad
• gad
• glad
• grad
• had

Kids Definition

sad

adjective

ˈsad 

sadder; saddest

1

: filled with or expressing grief or unhappiness

sad songs

2

: causing grief or unhappiness : depressing

sad news

sadly adverb

Medical Definition

SAD

abbreviation

seasonal affective disorder