unhappy

1 of 2

adjective

un·​hap·​py ˌən-ˈha-pē 

1

a

: not cheerful or glad : sad, wretched

didn't know why the child was so unhappy

I left the store an unhappy [=dissatisfied] customer.

—often used with with, about, or that

They were unhappy with the way things turned out.

The children were unhappy about going back to school.

I'm unhappy that my best friend is moving.

b

: causing or involving feelings of sadness : not pleasant or joyful

an unhappy marriage/childhood

spent several unhappy hours stuck at the airport

2

: not fortunate : unlucky

an unhappy coincidence

3

a

: causing or subject to misfortune : inauspicious

a particularly unhappy moment for the story to leak

b

: infelicitous, inappropriate

an unhappy choice

unhappiness noun

unhappiness

2 of 2

noun

un·​happiness

"+

: the quality or state of being unhappy : misery, sadness

Synonyms of unhappy

Adjective

• sad
• depressed
• miserable
• heartbroken
• bad
• upset
• sorry
• worried
• melancholy
• disappointed

Examples of unhappy in a Sentence

Adjective

I can see that he's unhappy, but I don't know why.

I've never seen her looking so unhappy.

For three unhappy days we were all stuck in the house because of the blizzard.

an unhappy choice of career

The movie's hero meets an unhappy fate.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Some of the speculation comes from state workers who are unhappy with the governor’s decision, the moderator said, but the subreddit’s activity also attracts outside agitators who are obviously not government employees. — William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2026

Brittin and members of his top team were confronted with a barrage of unhappy questions from employees, who fired shots at plans for a below-inflation 1% pay rise, voiced anxiety about 2,000 layoffs, and lamented the low morale among colleagues. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 21 July 2026

An unhappy passenger took to Reddit recently to express dismay about a one-hour flight delay because of an uncontrollable toddler on a flight in Sweden. — Perri Ormont Blumberg, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026

Last week, an aviation blog reported that both United Airlines and American Airlines issued internal staff memos guiding interactions with customers unhappy with the renaming of Palm Beach International. — Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English unhappynes, from unhappy + -nes -ness

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for unhappy

• chappie
• happy
• nappy
• pappy
• sappy
• scrappy
• snappy

Kids Definition

unhappy

adjective

un·​hap·​py ˌən-ˈhap-ē 

1

: not fortunate : unlucky

an unhappy mistake

2

: not cheerful : sad

3

: inappropriate

an unhappy color combination

unhappily

-ˈhap-ə-lē

adverb

unhappiness

-ˈhap-i-nəs

noun