1
as in unhappy
feeling unhappiness
movies in which the hero dies always make us feel sad
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in depressing
causing unhappiness
the sad news about our uncle's death made my father cry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
no one expected the supermodel to be a great actress, but her acting is sad beyond belief
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sad
There were happy tears, sad tears.
—
Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
And in news that is partly sad and partly welcome, people don’t Tebow so much anymore.
—Belinda Luscombe, Time, 3 Nov. 2025
The cheese actually covers the entire pizza rather than leaving sad bare spots like most frozen pizzas do.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 1 Nov. 2025
The experience left me feeling sad and wondering if having a phone-free get-together is even possible anymore.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 1 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sad
Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
And in news that is partly sad and partly welcome, people don’t Tebow so much anymore.
—Belinda Luscombe, Time, 3 Nov. 2025
The cheese actually covers the entire pizza rather than leaving sad bare spots like most frozen pizzas do.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 1 Nov. 2025
The experience left me feeling sad and wondering if having a phone-free get-together is even possible anymore.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 1 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sad
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sad
Adjective
-
Pauline Collins, the exuberant British actress who inspired women — and men, too — to do something to change their unhappy lives with her Oscar-nominated and Olivier- and Tony-winning performances in Shirley Valentine, has died.—
Lisa de los Reyes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
-
That distaste didn’t hurt Spanberger and her ticket, because 18% of those unhappy voters backed her anyway.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The Green Bay Packers suffered a brutal injury blow during their depressing Week 9 loss against the Carolina Panthers at home.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Soon, the entire room was awash with clippings, each detailing a different duplicitous scheme — a depressing reflection of how scam culture was taking over my country, eroding our trust in each other.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Enter Claude Whelan, played by James Callis, a fine actor with a face that can contort itself into about a dozen different versions of misery and pathetic dismay.—
Brian Grubb,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Ratcheting up the pressure on the pathetic Putin will be the only way this war ends.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
As the title suggests, the book details Turner's tale of a heartbroken widower who became an unlikely senior-citizen TV star on the first season of the reality show, which ended with an engagement to Nist.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Thomas told the outlet that her brother’s diagnosis left their family heartbroken.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
His love for Bruce leads to a break down, a breakthrough, and a heartbreaking reconciliation for Bruce and his father.—
Henry Selick,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
-
After a heartbreaking end to their season, the Toronto Blue Jays have one enormous question to answer this offseason.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Yet Plemons imbues him with despair, finding a pitiful fragility in his aggression.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Jerry Jeudy has struggled, and the depth behind Jeudy has been pitiful.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Developers are taking an extended break from a slumping San Diego area office market beset by empty space, depressed demand and high construction costs.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Real wages remain depressed and economic growth has stalled.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Thus a wonderful section on The Jew of Malta climaxes in an unfortunate vision of the text as a secret message to Lord Strange, a wealthy and important patron of the arts.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Such an event, let alone two within less than an hour of each other, is both unfortunate and potentially very suspicious.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sad.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sad. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share