1
as in unhappy
feeling unhappiness
movies in which the hero dies always make us feel sad
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in depressing
causing unhappiness
the sad news about our uncle's death made my father cry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
no one expected the supermodel to be a great actress, but her acting is sad beyond belief
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Try This Instead
Try This InsteadFor
Try This
a sad truth
sad news
sad eyes
a sad song
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 sad
On the saddest of Mondays, the best women’s college basketball player in America suffered a season-ending knee injury that could alter a career, a program, a life.
—
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025
But her life story is nervy, compelling and shockingly sad both with and without him.
—Kim Willis, USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2025
Family members and two of his lawyers say he was diagnosed with severe PTSD, a sad and rapid fall that ended in another explosion of violence.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 16 Mar. 2025
Their eggs failed to hatch in 2023 and 2024, leaving many internet followers sad.
—Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sad
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025
But her life story is nervy, compelling and shockingly sad both with and without him.
—Kim Willis, USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2025
Family members and two of his lawyers say he was diagnosed with severe PTSD, a sad and rapid fall that ended in another explosion of violence.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 16 Mar. 2025
Their eggs failed to hatch in 2023 and 2024, leaving many internet followers sad.
—Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sad
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sad
Adjective
-
Rather than panic, consider that software developers are pretty unhappy with the status quo.—
Steve Rodda,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
-
Recent polling also suggests that Americans are relatively unhappy with DOGE’s efforts.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The truth is more depressing: This show is bad in the usual manner of reality television.—
Peter Tonguette,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Mar. 2025
-
That wasn’t even the most depressing of Vlasic’s quotes.—
Scott Powers,
The Athletic,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The image of the 77-year-old Green screaming and shaking his cane at the president was partly disturbing but mostly pathetic.—
Matthew Continetti,
National Review,
8 Mar. 2025
-
Michael Gandolfini pops up as a slimy Fisk mayoral staffer who wouldn’t look out of place in this magazine’s recent cover featuring the new young right, and his playing both pathetic and vaguely sympathetic is very fun to watch.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In the original visual, the Grammy winner plays a heartbroken character named Peaches who has all traces of her ex wiped from her hippocampus, an homage to Michel Gondry’s 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
26 Mar. 2025
-
Seven Oaks parents ‘heartbroken’ Five Seven Oaks parents reached out to the Statesman to express disappointment with the removal of the bulletin board.—
Rose Evans,
Idaho Statesman,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The uprisings, and specifically a heartbreaking photo that was taken during them, are often credited with helping to accelerate the end of the apartheid system.—
Janice Gassam Asare,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
-
The Big Ten dominated the early goings of the NCAA Tournament, as Michigan’s comeback capped a 10-0 start by the conference before Wisconsin’s heartbreaking loss to BYU later Saturday.—
Sam Blum,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.—
Newsweek,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
My performance was beyond pitiful today, and has been for a while now.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Swelling in the hands and feet, getting sick frequently, feeling depressed, or having wounds that are slow to heal.—
Lorena Meouchi,
Vogue,
21 Mar. 2025
-
The photographer asked me to act sad and depressed, to stop smiling.—
Gaylyn Henderson, MPH,
Health,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Here at home, extreme weather exacerbated by climate change is having many unfortunate impacts on our lives, from farmers losing crops to devastating floods, brush fires, and high heat days.—
Michael Leone,
Hartford Courant,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Viet and Nam try to make sense of the tragic deaths of unfortunate people like Nam’s father, while their film namesake also attempts to do similar for people like those who have perished when attempting to find a new life.—
Josh Slater-Williams,
IndieWire,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sad.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sad. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share