sadly

adverb

sad·​ly ˈsad-lē 

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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

The Greek populations of these great cities are now sadly diminished or gone altogether, leaving them much duller places.

—Robert Fox

3

: 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

Is there a way to get the virus out of an afflicted cat's system? "Sadly, no," says Dr. [James] Richards.

—Tom Ewing

Synonyms of sadly

• bitterly
• sorrowfully
• painfully
• mournfully
• regretfully
• hard

Examples of sadly in a Sentence

sadly she told us how her dog died

Recent Examples on the Web

Late Shift may be set in a Swiss hospital, but its story is, sadly, universal and timely. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 3 Dec. 2025

Its co-op is online-only (no couch play, sadly), and the AI companion is your trusty sidekick. —PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025

But sadly, that only pushes his retaliation into darker territory. —Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Dec. 2025

It was eventually expanded to include sightseeing boats and fishing-gear rental—operating for decades and changing hands and names over the years—until the building was sadly destroyed by a fire in 2001. —Libby Monteith Minor, Southern Living, 29 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sadly

• badly
• gladly
• madly
• comradely