as in sad
causing unhappiness
the saddening discovery that something is threatening the birds in the area
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in depressing
to make sad
the arrival of winter always saddens me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saddening
Adjective
-
Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025 -
Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Inflation and interest rates grew during the pandemic, further depressing housing production, and supply chain disruptions drove up the cost of building materials.—
Jacob Posner,
The Christian Science Monitor,
12 Dec. 2024
-
In Redfin's 2025 prediction report, analysts say the higher occurrence of natural disasters in these states could start depressing home prices, particularly in coastal Florida and hurricane-prone parts of Texas.—
Joseph Epstein,
Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2024
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
-
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
Verb
-
Overweight and obesity need to be treated safely and effectively to avoid that worrying forecast.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
25 Dec. 2024
-
Bitcoin has dropping back from its all-time high of over $100,000 in the last week as BlackRock quietly confirmed a worrying bitcoin bombshell.—
Billy Bambrough,
Forbes,
24 Dec. 2024
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.
Cite this Entry
“Saddening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saddening. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share