unhappily

adverb

un·​hap·​pi·​ly ˌən-ˈha-pə-lē 

1

: unfortunately sense 1

unhappily, medicine has not yet found a cure

—Diana Trilling

2

: in an unhappy manner : without pleasure

practiced law unhappily for a few years

Synonyms

• agonizingly
• bitterly
• dolefully
• dolorously
• grievously
• hard
• hardly
• inconsolably
• lugubriously
• mournfully
• painfully
• plaintively
• regretfully
• resentfully
• ruefully
• sadly
• sorely
• sorrowfully
• wailfully
• woefully
• wretchedly

Examples of unhappily in a Sentence

They were unhappily married for two years.

an unhappily married couple being counseled by a professional

Recent Examples on the Web

These checks on presidential powers have not only been heeded by the men in power, however unhappily, but have become part of case law. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2025

Moscow, Washington, and, however unhappily, Kyiv know that NATO membership is out of Ukraine’s reach. —The Editors, National Review, 24 Apr. 2025

The seller was unhappily mulling it when another offer emerged, then another. —Kim Velsey, Curbed, 7 Apr. 2025

The actor Steve Coogan plays Tom Michell, a teacher from southern England who is unhappily assigned to an upper-class boy’s school in 1970s Argentina. —Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for unhappily

• happily