sadly

sadly — adverb

1. showing unhappiness or sorrow through your expression, voice, or the way you beh

1.adverbB1
Definition

showing unhappiness or sorrow through your expression, voice, or the way you behave or perform an action.

Example

Ilan looked at the broken toy and smiled sadly, knowing it could not be fixed.

smiled sadly — verb + sadly for showing sorrow in expression

The old pianist played the final piece slowly and sadly, lost in memory.

Common collocations
  • smile sadly
  • look sadly at
  • shake (one's) head sadly
  • say sadly
  • sigh sadly
  • walk away sadly
Synonyms
  • mournfully

    stronger sense of grief; more literary or poetic

  • sorrowfully

    more formal and intense; often used in writing

  • woefully

    can imply pitiable inadequacy rather than pure sadness

Antonyms
  • happily

    direct opposite; shows joy instead of sadness

  • joyfully

    stronger; suggests great delight or celebration

Grammar Patterns

verb + (object) + sadly

sadly + verb of expression

Usage Note

Manner adverb: modifies the verb to describe the emotional quality of the action. Common with verbs of speech (say, speak, whisper), facial expression (smile, look, gaze), and gesture (shake one's head, nod, wave).

Common Mistakes

She cried sadly all night.
She cried all night.
'Cry' already expresses sadness; adding 'sadly' is redundant.

2. used to express regret or disappointment about a situation, especially one that

2.adverbB1
Definition

used to express regret or disappointment about a situation, especially one that is unfortunate or hard to change.

Example

Sadly, the old community centre had to close because there was not enough money.

sentence-initial position: "Sadly, + full clause"

The research team was sadly unable to find enough volunteers for the study.

Common collocations
  • sadly + passive verb (was sadly lacking / were sadly missed)
  • Sadly, ...
  • but sadly ...
Synonyms
  • unfortunately

    more common in everyday speech; same syntactic role

  • regrettably

    more formal; often used in official announcements

  • alas

    archaic or literary; rare in modern serious writing

Antonyms
  • fortunately

    direct opposite; expresses relief about a situation

  • happily

    also used as a sentence adverb expressing satisfaction

Grammar Patterns

Sadly, + full clause

subject + sadly + verb phrase

Usage Note

Sentence adverb: modifies the whole clause and expresses the speaker's attitude of regret. Commonly placed at the start of a sentence followed by a comma, or mid-sentence after a conjunction such as 'but' or 'and'. More common in writing than in casual conversation, where 'unfortunately' tends to be preferred.

Common Mistakes

Sadly, she sang the song.' (when meaning 'in a sad way')
She sang the song sadly.
Sense 1 places 'sadly' after the verb; Sense 2 (sentence adverb) comes before the clause.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/2

These four words all express regret about a situation but differ in formality and emotional weight. Unfortunately is the most neutral and by far the most common in both speech and writing; it fits nearly any context. Sadly carries a slightly warmer, more personal sense of disappointment — it sounds less distant than 'unfortunately' when the speaker shares the sadness. Regrettably is more formal and detached, often appearing in official statements or business correspondence. Alas is literary or humorous in modern English and rarely used in serious writing. For example: 'Unfortunately, the train was delayed.' (neutral fact); 'Sadly, the old cinema will close next month.' (personal loss); 'Regrettably, your application was unsuccessful.' (formal rejection); 'Alas, our hero arrived too late.' (storybook tone).

sadly ↗unfortunately ↗regrettablyalas ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old English sæd meaning 'sated, full' and also 'weary,' which gradually shifted in Middle English to mean 'sorrowful.' The -ly suffix was added to form the manner adverb. The sentence-adverb sense meaning 'unfortunately' developed in the 1600s, as speakers began using 'sadly' to comment on whole situations.