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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

• 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

Of course, sadly missing from the grand reunion that was The Grand Finale was the late Maggie Smith, who played Robert’s mother, Violet. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025

Lucero speaks with emotion about what motivated him to make a movie that major studios would sadly most likely pass on. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025

But sadly, the no-muss, no-fuss era of a single must-have national rail pass is over. —Jessica Kozuka, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025

But sadly, after many rescue attempts, BSC closed for good in 2024, unable to overcome the financial issues that had plagued the school for decades. —Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sadly

• badly
• gladly
• madly
• comradely