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
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
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Smile sadly at her, his face an eerie twin of her own.—
Mona Awad,
New Yorker,
20 July 2025
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Authorities confirmed that one student sadly died in the incident.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
18 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unhappily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhappily. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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