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sadly
[ sad-lee ]
adverb
- in an unhappy, sorrowful, or regretful way; unfortunately; regrettably:
Gun tracing is an attempt to answer the sadly common question of where the gun used in a crime came from.
Sadly, the tourism and money brought in by the World Cup games won't benefit the people who need it most.
Word History and Origins
Origin of sadly1
Example Sentences
's left is "free sugars, sadly, and fluids", she said, plus a "small amount" of fibre.
But sadly, the federal government’s willingness to violate federal and international law with impunity didn’t begin with Trump.
He did continue to do voiceover work, however, and Moranis was set to make a comeback in a Honey I Shrunk the Kids reboot, which sadly fell through.
It’s a method of justifying saying out loud what Daum might still call the unspeakable — even if that feels, in 2025, like a sadly outmoded concept.
"The one person who isn't here to say thank you to is my mum, who sadly passed away four years ago," he said.
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Related Words
More About Sadly
does sadly mean?
Sadly means in an unhappy, sorrowful, or regretful way, as in Whenever my dog looks at me sadly, I can’t help but cuddle him.
Sadly is frequently used to mean unfortunately, as in Sadly, he could not make the game today. This usage often gives a more emotional or sympathetic tone to a statement. It’s often used for disappointments, excuses, reports of loss, and any other scenario where something could be upsetting to the listener or reader.
Example: We report sadly that we were unable to reach our financial goals this quarter.
Where does sadly come from?
The first records of the term sadly come from the late 1300s. It combines the term sad, meaning “affected by unhappiness or grief,” and the suffix –ly, which forms adverbs from adjectives, like gladly and secondly.
Another common sense of sadly is “in a shabby, tattered, or otherwise disheveled way.” For example, you might say a wilting plant looks sadly as it droops. Most of the time, though, sadly will be reserved for situations of disappointment or sorrow.
Did you know … ?
How is sadly used in real life?
Sadly is often used to describe how someone feels about a statement they’re making.
excEYEting update: apparently I scratched 4 of the 6 layers of my eyeball but sadly they wont give me an eyepatch so my pirate dream is over
— Phil Lester (@AmazingPhil)
adulthood is arrogantly deleting and then sadly downloading tinder & uber eats over and over and over
— Deirdre (@figgled)
Yes, sadly it's true. This upcoming season of Jersey Shore will be our last. But it was fricken INSANE. I will always love my roomies! 💗
— Nicole Polizzi (@snooki)
Try using sadly!
Is sadly used correctly in the following sentence?
I looked sadly at the cake I had dropped on the floor, regretting that I wouldn’t get to eat it.
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