as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
an unhappily married couple being counseled by a professional
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Recent Examples of unhappily
Her eager supporting cast has no idea that the series is being written by anything other than its human faces, unhappily married couple Josh (John Early) and Mary (Abbi Jacobson).
—
Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Even high productivity numbers may not be enough to pay the government’s debts, and there will be many people unhappily and under-employed.
—Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
The film centers on Westley (Cary Elwes), a farmhand who goes on a noble quest to rescue his beloved Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the clutches of the loathsome Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), to whom she's unhappily betrothed.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
One of the youngest of the MacKenzie brood (and often seen with sister Janet), Jocasta Cameron is sometimes callously honest, perpetually jealous of the attention Ellen gets, and unhappily married to an old man.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappily
Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Even high productivity numbers may not be enough to pay the government’s debts, and there will be many people unhappily and under-employed.
—Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
The film centers on Westley (Cary Elwes), a farmhand who goes on a noble quest to rescue his beloved Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the clutches of the loathsome Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), to whom she's unhappily betrothed.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
One of the youngest of the MacKenzie brood (and often seen with sister Janet), Jocasta Cameron is sometimes callously honest, perpetually jealous of the attention Ellen gets, and unhappily married to an old man.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappily
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhappily
Adverb
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After Adele and her mother had fought, bitterly, about her decision to keep the baby, and then more bitterly about her refusal to find Jamie in Florida and demand child support, Bromley invited her to live with him while things cooled down at home.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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During the Nullification Crisis of 1831–1833, partisan journalists had a major role in framing the issue and were bitterly opposed to one another, especially in South Carolina.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
26 May 2026
Adverb
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Those faithful are making SpaceX not just the largest and most widely-lauded IPO ever, but sadly, far-and-away the most expensive.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
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As a fashion writer with expensive taste and a budget that (sadly) doesn’t always agree, TJ Maxx’s Runway section has become my go-to source for scoring designer finds at prices that feel too good to be true.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
6 June 2026
Adverb
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Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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The novel painfully exposes the ruthless mistreatment and exploitation of both racehorses and humans in this era and tracks the ripples of that trauma through time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
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Audiences fell in love with Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt’s pitch-perfect chemistry as Paul and Jamie Buchman, a married couple whose everyday misadventures felt hilariously — sometimes painfully — relatable.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
Adverb
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So is the moment early in the film when Mary mournfully looks on as her long-ago home faces demolition to make room for a big, featureless residential complex.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2026
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Things are getting hot in Kayce's love life, even after the widower mournfully visits the East Camp memorial to his beloved wife, Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille).—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unhappily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhappily. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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