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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

• 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

The prestige of the truly élite colleges will, sadly, not change all that much. —Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 9 June 2026

My trusty knapsack has come with me on European adventures and weekend trips, but sadly, it’s begun to show signs of wear and tear after years of regular use. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2026

Those faithful are making SpaceX not just the largest and most widely-lauded IPO ever, but sadly, far-and-away the most expensive. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 6 June 2026

Goalkeeper Barbosa was viewed in Brazil as the main culprit and, sadly and unfairly, suffered abuse for it for the rest of his life. —Will Jeanes, New York Times, 5 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sadly

• badly
• gladly
• madly
• comradely