1
: in a sad manner : in a way that shows sadness or unhappiness
They spoke sadly of their loss.
She shook her head sadly.
He walked away sadly.
2
: in a way that causes feelings of sadness, disappointment, or regret
a garden that has been sadly neglected for many years
What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.—
Sue Grafton
Sue GraftonThe Greek populations of these great cities are now sadly diminished or gone altogether, leaving them much duller places.—Robert Fox
Robert Fox3
: unfortunately
—used to say that something is sad, unfortunate, or regrettable
Sadly, you can upload a perfectly working website today and return a few months later to find that many of its external links have died off.—Matthew MacDonald
Matthew MacDonaldIs there a way to get the virus out of an afflicted cat's system? "Sadly, no," says Dr. [James] Richards.—Tom Ewing
Tom EwingSynonyms
Examples of sadly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The duo lost six weeks in, sadly dancing their last dance on the April 12th episode.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2024
Preston sadly died in July 2020 two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Yet sadly, when one’s entire career is built on such an efficient way of offing another who is (or isn’t) guilty, and that disappears, other forms of corporal punishment don’t satisfy in the same way.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
There was minimal damage to an Israeli air base, which remained functional, and sadly a seven-year-old girl from a Bedouin village suffered a serious head wound.
—The Editors, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024
Although Winehouse’s career was sadly cut short through alcohol poisoning at the age of just 27 in 2011, her stage presence and style became almost as instantly recognizable as her voice.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Without question, there are Americans who are hurting financially — sadly, this is always true to some extent, especially given the weakness of America’s social safety net.
—Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
If this was the case, the actor was, sadly, unsuccessful.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 11 Apr. 2024
The floor is probably another 100-loss season, sadly.
—Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024
Shania Russell, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2024
Preston sadly died in July 2020 two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Yet sadly, when one’s entire career is built on such an efficient way of offing another who is (or isn’t) guilty, and that disappears, other forms of corporal punishment don’t satisfy in the same way.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
There was minimal damage to an Israeli air base, which remained functional, and sadly a seven-year-old girl from a Bedouin village suffered a serious head wound.
—The Editors, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024
Although Winehouse’s career was sadly cut short through alcohol poisoning at the age of just 27 in 2011, her stage presence and style became almost as instantly recognizable as her voice.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Without question, there are Americans who are hurting financially — sadly, this is always true to some extent, especially given the weakness of America’s social safety net.
—Paul Krugman, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
If this was the case, the actor was, sadly, unsuccessful.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 11 Apr. 2024
The floor is probably another 100-loss season, sadly.
—Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sadly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sadly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sadly. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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