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. W. Cunnington
c
: of little worth
2
: of a dull somber color
sadness
noun
seasonal affective disorder
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
Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026
The sad but realistic turns in their lives are engrossing, as is their slow convergence.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
The day when someone wouldn’t automatically associate his folk group the Milk Carton Kids with all those sad images of missing youth splatted across grocery stores in the 1980s.
—Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 24 Apr. 2026
The fiasco is a sad case study of what can happen when the federal government intervenes too harshly in the free market.
—Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sad
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Adjective
Both Angela Ingersoll, who played the ever-hopeful Sally, and Michelle Duffy, as the cynical realist Phyllis, pulsed with vivacious energy, playing across from Rapp’s sardonic take on wound-tight Ben and Wallem’s deeply sad exploration of Buddy.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026
The sad but realistic turns in their lives are engrossing, as is their slow convergence.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
The day when someone wouldn’t automatically associate his folk group the Milk Carton Kids with all those sad images of missing youth splatted across grocery stores in the 1980s.
—Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 24 Apr. 2026
The fiasco is a sad case study of what can happen when the federal government intervenes too harshly in the free market.
—Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sad
Cite this Entry
“Sad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sad. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sad
adjective
sadder; saddest
1
: filled with or expressing grief or unhappiness
sad songs
2
: causing grief or unhappiness : depressing
sad news
sadly
adverb
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