1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

unhappy

adjective

ˌən-ˈha-pē How to pronounce unhappy (audio)
Definition of unhappynext
1
as in sad
feeling unhappiness he's been unhappy ever since his family's move, which took him away from all his friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck she's trying to forget that whole unhappy attempt to start a business

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unsuitable
not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation a guest unintentionally made unhappy reference to what is a painful situation for the family

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 unhappy Before long, the book moves back in time to shadow the king himself, an unhappy leader thrust into his role by chance and now on the brink of death. — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026 Prince William is said to be pretty unhappy about the situation. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026 One potential troublespot would be if very large storms coincide with super high king tides, which — due to an unhappy cosmic coincidence related to lunar tide cycles — are set to come this winter. — Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 Channel 4 insiders are certainly not unhappy with the outcome. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unhappy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhappy
  1. sad
  2. unfortunate
  3. unsuitable
  4. depressed
  5. disastrous
  6. inappropriate
  7. miserable
  8. wrong
Adjective
  • However — here is the gold dust — the perfect blend is gay AND sad.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Top Plays from Broncos @ Chiefs Perhaps the only solace for the Broncos after a season of sky-high expectations opened with a flop is those sorts of sad adjectives belonged to everyone.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of sad
Adjective
  • That is the unfortunate part of a tenure full of expansion, media-rights billions and two transformational collective bargaining agreements.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Moore and his allies are presenting gerrymandering as an unfortunate response to an acute political crisis, but trying to gerrymander Maryland in favor of Democrats is far from a new effort.
    — Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of unfortunate
Adjective
  • Guy acknowledges, though, that this could lead to the level of chaos depicted in a memorable 2009 episode of The Office, where staff show up in an array of unsuitable outfits.
    — Chloe Veltman, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
  • That could allow geothermal projects to operate in locations that have traditionally been considered unsuitable for geothermal development.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of unsuitable
Adjective
  • Instead, medical guidelines typically recommend testosterone for men who report symptoms — including low libido and depressed mood — and have two blood tests confirming low levels of the hormone.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Yet her awakening is dampened by her depressed father and cruel stepmother Abby (Rebecca Hall).
    — William Earl, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of depressed
Adjective
  • The agency might even take the opportunity to completely redesign the disastrous Ashland, Armitage and Elston Avenue intersection and save generations of Chicagoans the headache of spending 15 minutes navigating through a single stoplight.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Where his focus has been following the Dolphins’ special team unit’s disastrous performance in Miami’s 27-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders is patching the leaks that led to three massive returns to the Raiders and a missing a field-goal attempt.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of disastrous
Adjective
  • The Star spoke to 11 current and former employees who have worked for Sanders and who all detailed various types of abuse and inappropriate behavior that had allegedly taken place at their workplace.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The inappropriate touching included slapping her on the buttocks and touching her hair and thighs, the report states.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of inappropriate
Adjective
  • But this sleekly miserable noir about the aftermath of a feckless man’s confrontation with his wife’s younger lover transports the stuff of archetype into Putin’s Russia.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The higher the price of gas goes, the more miserable Republicans become, and the more bettors see the Dems winning.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of miserable
Adjective
  • Who wouldn’t like to whip out a formula that enabled you to judge this action as evil and the other as merely wrong?
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The helicopter, which was used by NBC and Telemundo, crashed about two hours after police say Rios drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue, ran a red light and struck a vehicle before hitting the bus.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of wrong

Browse Nearby Words

unhappiness
unhappy
unharmed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unhappy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhappy. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All