sadder; saddest
1
a
: affected with or expressive of grief or unhappiness : downcast
b(1)
: causing or associated with grief or unhappiness : depressing
sad news
(2)
: regrettable, deplorable
a sad relaxation of morals—
C. W. Cunnington
C. W. Cunnington
c
: of little worth
2
: of a dull somber color
sadness
noun
seasonal affective disorder
Examples of sad in a Sentence
Adjective
He's feeling sad because his pet died.
People were sad that he was leaving.
The experience left her sadder but wiser.
Have you heard the sad news about his wife's illness?
It'll be a sad day when you leave us.
a movie with a sad ending
He lived a sad life.
The sad fact of the matter is that they are right.
The new version is a sad imitation of the original movie.
We needed more money but, sad to say, there wasn't any.
Recent Examples on the Web
NPR, 13 Oct. 2025
But the Fifth Quarter was just a sad lullaby for the four that preceded it, and there are as many answers as the Badgers scored points.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
The play where DeMario Douglas zig-zagged through a sad-sack Saints secondary for a touchdown, then returned to the sideline and got yanked back with the rest of the offense.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
Neither bubbly like Annie nor morose like Interiors’ Renata, Mary was a funny, sad, ambitious New Yorker whose intellect and beauty had gotten her exactly nowhere.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sad
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Adjective
This musician from Ambato, Ecuador, tropicalized the national music of the Ecuadorian highlands, which had long been stigmatized for its Indigenous roots and the sad melodies often associated with them.
—NPR, 13 Oct. 2025
But the Fifth Quarter was just a sad lullaby for the four that preceded it, and there are as many answers as the Badgers scored points.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
The play where DeMario Douglas zig-zagged through a sad-sack Saints secondary for a touchdown, then returned to the sideline and got yanked back with the rest of the offense.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
Neither bubbly like Annie nor morose like Interiors’ Renata, Mary was a funny, sad, ambitious New Yorker whose intellect and beauty had gotten her exactly nowhere.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sad
Cite this Entry
“Sad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sad. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sad
adjective
sadder; saddest
1
: filled with or expressing grief or unhappiness
sad songs
2
: causing grief or unhappiness : depressing
sad news
sadly
adverb
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