as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
an unhappily married couple being counseled by a professional
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 unhappily
The actor Steve Coogan plays Tom Michell, a teacher from southern England who is unhappily assigned to an upper-class boy’s school in 1970s Argentina.
—
Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The Palestinian population would live unhappily, but under the day-to-day administration of a Palestinian government.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2025
Although Hemingway had been somewhat happily employed by the Toronto Star Weekly as a foreign correspondent since 1921, in 1923 he was unhappily transferred to feature writing for the Toronto Daily Star under the notorious Hindmarsh.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 6 Jan. 2025
One of them is another family friend, the unhappily married Naomi Shah, who at the psychologist’s 40th wedding-anniversary party takes an interest in Griffin that turns quickly, shockingly carnal, leading to a series of encounters in her Mercedes and elsewhere.
—Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappily
Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
The Palestinian population would live unhappily, but under the day-to-day administration of a Palestinian government.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2025
Although Hemingway had been somewhat happily employed by the Toronto Star Weekly as a foreign correspondent since 1921, in 1923 he was unhappily transferred to feature writing for the Toronto Daily Star under the notorious Hindmarsh.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 6 Jan. 2025
One of them is another family friend, the unhappily married Naomi Shah, who at the psychologist’s 40th wedding-anniversary party takes an interest in Griffin that turns quickly, shockingly carnal, leading to a series of encounters in her Mercedes and elsewhere.
—Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappily
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhappily
sadly
Adverb
-
In the absence of moonlight, a single observer might see 45 to 90 meteors per hour on the peak night, a number that sadly cannot be hoped to be approached in 2025.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Now, perhaps sadly, the site may make more financial sense as just another high-rise mixed-use project with a big-box anchor retail tenant.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unhappily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhappily. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share