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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

Heat waves are a frequent and sadly deadly occurrence. —Angela Fritz, CNN Money, 12 May 2026

But sadly, there used to be about 3,000 picanterías in Arequipa two hundred years ago, and there’s only about 80 left today. —AFAR Media, 11 May 2026

With his partner Nick Pihakis, Scott franchised out a few locations of his restaurant across the Southeastern US, but sadly news broke this week that the restaurants are facing multiple lawsuits for unpaid bills and loans. —Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 May 2026

To your point, there’s just so many red carpets now, so sadly the moment doesn’t linger anymore. —José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 6 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sadly

• badly
• gladly
• madly
• comradely