as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
an unhappily married couple being counseled by a professional
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Recent Examples of unhappily
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhappily
sadly
Adverb
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And for students of color, these statistics are sadly graver, with federal data suggesting that high schools that predominantly educate Black and Hispanic children offer advanced curricula, like calculus and physics, at lower rates than predominantly white institutions.—
Essence,
Essence,
8 May 2025
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Previously in a loving home, Amber was sadly returned through no fault of her own due to a family member’s allergies.—
Trish Stinger,
Kansas City Star,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unhappily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhappily. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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