sad

[[t]sæ̱d[/t]]

♦♦

sadder, saddest

1) ADJ-GRADED: oft ADJ that/to-inf, ADJ about n If you are sad, you feel unhappy, usually because something has happened that you do not like.

The relationship had been important to me and its loss left me feeling sad and empty...

I'm sad that Julie's marriage is on the verge of splitting up...

I'd grown fond of our little house and felt sad to leave it...

I'm sad about my toys getting burned in the fire.

Syn:

unhappy

Ant:

happy

Derived words:

sadly ADV-GRADED usu ADV with v

...a gallant man who will be sadly missed by all his comrades...

He could not help adding sadly: `I'm desperately upset not to be playing for Queensland.'

sadness N-UNCOUNT

It is with a mixture of sadness and joy that I say farewell.

2) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n Sad stories and sad news make you feel sad.

...a desperately humorous, impossibly sad novel...

Yesterday, I received the sad news that one of them had been killed in a motor-cycle accident.

3) ADJ-GRADED A sad event or situation is unfortunate or undesirable.

It's a sad truth that children are the biggest victims of passive smoking.

Derived words:

sadly ADV usu ADV adj, ADV with cl

Sadly, bamboo plants die after flowering...

The vast majority of special care babies grow up to be perfectly healthy but, sadly, a few don't survive.

4) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n If you describe someone as sad, you do not have any respect for them and think their behaviour or ideas are ridiculous. [INFORMAL]

...sad old bikers and youngsters who think that Jim Morrison is God.

Syn:

pathetic

5) PHRASE: PHR with cl You can use the expression sad to say when you are describing an situation which you find unfortunate.

How does a suffering alcoholic get into one of these hospitals? Sad to say, there are not very many of them around...

He died five or six years ago I'm sad to say.