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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.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

Inspired by the work of Spanish maestro Antoni Gaudí, Treister’s gem sadly fell into neglect in the early aughts. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Apr. 2026

The Osmonds member Alan Osmond sadly died on April 21, 2026, at age 76. —Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 21 Apr. 2026

Of course, that sadly isn't possible. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 19 Apr. 2026

Our new setting is a country club in Montecito—Harry and Meghan, sadly, do not make an appearance—that was recently bought by a South Korean billionaire, chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung). —Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sadly

• badly
• gladly
• madly
• comradely