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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

But, sadly, the symptoms continued. —Lisa Vernon-Sparks, Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025

There was sadly no chance for Soundgarden to stage a complete reunion, but drummer Matt Cameron, guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassists Ben Shepherd and Hiro Yamamoto were all on hand to honor the late Chris Cornell. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2025

And sadly, the answer as humans is yes. —Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Nov. 2025

And many of us, sadly, have been in a state of absolute despair while grieving someone, which is its own type of temporary insanity. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sadly

• badly
• gladly
• madly
• comradely