unhappily

adverb

un·​hap·​pi·​ly ˌən-ˈha-pə-lē How to pronounce unhappily (audio)
1
: unfortunately sense 1
unhappily, medicine has not yet found a cureDiana Trilling
2
: in an unhappy manner : without pleasure
practiced law unhappily for a few years

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
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.
Although Hemingway had been somewhat happily employed by the Toronto Star Weekly as a foreign correspondent since 1921, in 1923 he was unhappily transferred to feature writing for the Toronto Daily Star under the notorious Hindmarsh. Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 6 Jan. 2025 One of them is another family friend, the unhappily married Naomi Shah, who at the psychologist’s 40th wedding-anniversary party takes an interest in Griffin that turns quickly, shockingly carnal, leading to a series of encounters in her Mercedes and elsewhere. Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025 With that announcement, my memory raced back unhappily to the bad old days of J. Edgar Hoover — except in dramatic ways, Patel looks worse. Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 15 Dec. 2024 And while Americans have unhappily encountered other types of inflation in recent years — sky-high grocery prices have been credited with helping President-elect Donald Trump claim victory last month — health insurance can take on an even more personal edge, Thomas pointed out. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for unhappily 

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of unhappily was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near unhappily

Cite this Entry

“Unhappily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unhappily. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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