INDEX:
1. feeling sad or unhappy
2. feeling sad or unhappy for a long time
3. extremely sad
4. making you feel sad
5. to make someone feel sad
6. to feel sad and pity yourself
7. to feel sad because someone has died
8. a sad feeling
9. to make somebody feel less sad
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ HAPPY
to become happy again after a period of problems or sadness : ↑ RECOVER (4-5)
to make someone less sad : ↑ REDUCE
see also
↑ DISAPPOINTED
↑ UPSET
↑ FED UP
↑ CRY
↑ FEEL
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1. feeling sad or unhappy
▷ sad /sæd/ [adjective not usually before noun]
not happy, especially because a happy time has ended, or because you feel sorry about someone else’s unhappiness :
▪ She felt sad as she waved goodbye.
▪ Don’t look so sad! It won’t be long until the next holidays.
▪ There was such a sad look in her eyes.
sad to see/hear/learn etc
▪ We were very sad to hear about Mrs Humphrey’s death.
sad to do something
▪ I was glad to be going home, but sad to leave all my friends.
sad about
▪ It’s natural to feel sad about it when your children finally leave home.
sadly [adverb]
▪ She shook her head sadly and sighed.
▷ unhappy /ʌnˈhæpi/ [adjective]
not happy, because you are in a situation, job, or relationship that you do not enjoy at all, and it seems likely to continue :
▪ Neil was very unhappy at school.
▪ Her parents’ divorce left her feeling confused and unhappy
desperately/deeply unhappy
very unhappy
▪ She was desperately unhappy after Sean left her.
unhappy about
▪ I felt so unhappy about what he had said that I just sat down and cried.
unhappily [adverb]
▪ ‘I really don’t know what to do’ said James, unhappily.
▷ upset /ʌpˈset/ [adjective not before noun]
unhappy because something unpleasant or disappointing has happened, so that you feel shocked or you want to cry :
▪ Don’t be upset. I’m sure she didn’t mean to be unkind.
▪ The children were very upset when we told them that we wouldn’t be going to Disneyland.
get upset
▪ We’d better not tell Mum about what’s happened. She’ll only get upset.
upset about
▪ Liz is very upset about her uncle’s death.
upset that
▪ ‘What’s the matter with Rod?’ ‘I think he’s still upset that we forgot his birthday.’
▷ miserable /ˈmɪz ə rəb ə l/ [adjective]
extremely unhappy, because of the situation you are in, especially because you are lonely, hungry, cold etc :
▪ He sat all alone in his room, thoroughly miserable.
▪ The poor miserable animals were starving, dirty and wet.
▪ All the staff seemed to look miserable and the atmosphere was not at all pleasant.
miserably [adverb]
▪ He shook his head miserably, the tears pouring down his cheeks.
▷ homesick /ˈhəʊmˌsɪk/ [adjective]
unhappy because you are away from your home, your family, and your friends, and you wish you were back there :
▪ My sister was very homesick when she first went to college.
▪ They were both gazing out of the window like a couple of homesick kids.
▪ Most people get homesick the first time they leave home.
homesick for
▪ Sampras confessed that he was homesick for America after five weeks in Europe.
▷ dejected /dɪˈdʒektɪd, dɪˈdʒektəd/ [adjective]
sad and disappointed because something you hoped for did not happen - use this especially when this is shown in the way that someone looks, sounds etc :
▪ He looked utterly dejected when she told him he’d failed again.
▪ Greg sounded dejected. ‘Anything wrong?’ I said.
▪ One glance at the doctor’s dejected expression answered my question.
▪ Kirkwood was a particularly dejected figure after their defeat.
dejectedly [adverb]
▪ She read the letter and looked up dejectedly.
▷ downcast /ˈdaʊnkɑːstǁ-kæst/ [adjective]
sad or disappointed because of a situation or because something you hoped for did not happen :
▪ Jamie seems very downcast at the moment. He misses Jenny terribly.
▪ ‘You mustn’t be downcast’ he said. ‘You can always try again.’
▪ The photograph of her sitting on her own made her look lonely and downcast.
▷ glum/gloomy /glʌm, ˈgluːmi/ [adjective] informal
sad because something slightly bad has happened or you do not have much hope for the future :
▪ Don’t look so glum! Things aren’t as bad as all that.
▪ Monday morning? Feeling glum ?
▪ Sorry to be gloomy. I’ve had a bit of a bad day.
▪ The doctor was a tall gloomy Scotsman.
▪ The glum expression on the England manager’s face said it all.
▪ Why are you in such a gloomy mood?
glumly/gloomily [adverb]
▪ ‘Raining again,’ she said glumly.
▷ wistful /ˈwɪstf ə l/ [adjective]
someone who looks wistful has a slightly sad and thoughtful expression on their face, especially because they are thinking about the past or want something they cannot have :
▪ Simon’s face grew wistful as he thought about his happy student days.
▪ She looked at them with a wistful smile. ‘I wish I could go with you.’
wistfully [adverb]
▪ ‘We used to have lovely family holidays all together,’ she said wistfully.
▷ mournful /ˈmɔːʳnf ə l/ [adjective]
looking or sounding very sad, as if something very bad has happened :
▪ His voice sounded so mournful that tears came into her eyes.
▪ I could hear the slow, mournful music of the bagpipes.
▪ The dog lay at his feet, looking up from time to time with big mournful eyes.
mournfully [adverb]
▪ In the distance, a wolf howled mournfully.
2. feeling sad or unhappy for a long time
▷ depressed /dɪˈprest/ [adjective not usually before noun]
very unhappy and without any hope for a long time, and feeling that your life will never get better, sometimes so that this becomes a mental illness :
▪ My sister’s been really depressed since she lost her job.
▪ A lot of people get depressed in the winter, when the weather’s bad and there’s very little sunlight.
depressed about
▪ Greta often gets depressed about her weight.
▷ down/low /daʊn, ləʊ/ [adjective not before noun] informal
unhappy, especially because something bad has happened to you and you cannot see how to make the situation better :
▪ John’s pretty low at the moment -- his business is losing money.
▪ He’s been feeling down since he failed his driving test for the fifth time.
▷ down in the dumps /ˌdaʊn ɪn ðə ˈdʌmps/ [adjective phrase not before noun] informal
feeling unhappy and not having much interest in what is happening around you, but usually in a way that is not very serious :
▪ Mom’s kind of down in the dumps at the moment -- why don’t you buy her something to cheer her up?
▪ If you’re feeling down in the dumps, come over and have a chat.
▷ feel blue /ˌfiːl ˈbluː/ [verb phrase] informal
to feel slightly sad or unhappy, because something bad has happened to you or sometimes for no particular reason :
▪ Feeling blue? Don’t know who to talk to? Phone Depression Hotline, 24 hours a day.
▷ morose /məˈrəʊs/ [adjective]
someone who is morose behaves in an unhappy, bad-tempered way, and does not speak much to other people :
▪ Since the accident she’s been morose and moody.
▪ Frank was sitting alone at the table, looking morose.
▪ Some people become morose and depressed when they first retire.
3. extremely sad
▷ heartbroken /ˈhɑːʳtˌbrəʊkən/ [adjective]
extremely sad and sorry because something very bad has happened, especially to someone or something that you love or care about very much :
▪ When her parents separated, she was heartbroken.
▪ Heartbroken fans camped outside his house in Beverly Hills.
heartbroken at/about
▪ Mr and Mrs Dudley were heartbroken at having to leave the home where they had lived for thirty years.
▷ devastated /ˈdevəsteɪtɪd, ˈdevəsteɪtəd/ [adjective]
extremely sad and shocked because something very bad has happened, and you feel that this has ruined your life or your plans :
▪ The whole town was devastated by the tragedy, in which fourteen schoolchildren died.
devastated to hear/find etc something
▪ When we got back, we were devastated to find that the house had been burgled, and everything of value taken.
▷ inconsolable /ˌɪnkənˈsəʊləb ə l/ [adjective not usually before noun]
so sad that other people cannot make you feel happier, especially because someone has died or because something very bad has happened :
▪ After the death of her baby she was inconsolable.
▪ Doris was inconsolable. How could her husband walk out on her like that?
4. making you feel sad
▷ sad /sæd/ [adjective usually before noun]
use this about a story, piece of music, period of time etc that makes you feel sad :
sad time/day/moment/occasion etc
▪ The day her son left home was one of the saddest days of her life.
sad news/story/song etc
▪ Fairuz sang a sad song that made us all feel homesick.
▪ I don’t like movies with sad endings.
it is sad that
▪ It’s very sad that she died before her children grew up.
▷ unhappy /ʌnˈhæpi/ [adjective]
unhappy childhood/marriage/year etc
a time when you are unhappy because you are in a difficult or unpleasant situation :
▪ Phil was married for three unhappy years.
▪ Looking at that photo always bring back unhappy memories.
▪ an unhappy love affair
▷ depressing /dɪˈpresɪŋ/ [adjective]
a depressing experience, story, piece of news etc makes you feel that there is nothing to be happy about and not much hope for the future :
▪ The Deerhunter was a very depressing movie about Vietnam.
▪ It’s such a depressing town - it’s full of ugly, disused factories.
▪ Listening to the news can be really depressing, when all you ever hear about is violence and crime.
▷ upsetting /ʌpˈsetɪŋ/ [adjective]
an upsetting experience or event makes you feel very sad and often shocked :
▪ Seeing her lying there in a hospital bed was a very upsetting experience.
▪ She can’t talk about her son’s death - she finds it too upsetting.
it is upsetting to find/know/learn etc something
▪ It’s very upsetting to arrive home and find that your house has been burgled.
▷ miserable /ˈmɪz ə rəb ə l/ [adjective]
a time that is miserable is one when you are extremely unhappy because you are in a very unpleasant situation :
▪ Factory workers during the 18th century led miserable lives.
▪ The journey home was miserable. Everyone was depressed about losing the game.
▷ heartbreaking/heart-rending /ˈhɑːʳtˌbreɪkɪŋ, ˈhɑːʳt ˌrendɪŋ/ [adjective]
a story, event, piece of news etc that is heartbreaking makes you feel extremely sad and sorry or extremely disappointed :
▪ It’s a heartbreaking moment when a great sportsman finally decides that it’s time to quit.
▪ The decision to kill the infected animals was a heart-rending one for farmers.
it is heartbreaking to see/learn etc something
▪ Having worked so hard to start the business, it would be heartbreaking to see it all collapse.
▷ dismal /ˈdɪzm ə l/ [adjective]
a dismal place, situation, or time makes you feel unhappy and not at all hopeful :
▪ It was a grey, dismal November afternoon.
▪ Melinda joined her husband in Moscow, but soon found life there bleak and dismal.
▪ The profit margin on hardware sales for the first quarter was a dismal 29%.
dismally [adverb]
▪ At the time there was a dismally weak market in the rest of Europe.
▷ dreary /ˈdrɪ ə ri/ [adjective]
a place, activity, or time that is dreary is not at all interesting or enjoyable and makes you feel unhappy :
▪ This room is so dreary. How can we brighten it up?
▪ a dreary winter’s day
▪ Cooking for one person can be a dreary business, as many elderly people find.
▷ bleak /bliːk/ [adjective]
a place or situation that is bleak is one in which there is nothing to make you feel cheerful or hopeful about the future :
▪ The wild landscape was bleak and bare.
▪ He gazed around the empty, bleak little room in despair.
▪ Many people were facing a financially bleak Christmas.
▪ The chief executive said that the company was looking at a bleak future.
the outlook/prospect/future etc is bleak
▪ Prospects of success looked bleak as the opposition scored the first two goals.
5. to make someone feel sad
▷ make somebody (feel) sad/unhappy /ˌmeɪk somebody (fiːl) ˈsæd, ʌnˈhæpi/ [verb phrase]
▪ Something at school was making her unhappy, but she didn’t want to talk about it.
it makes somebody sad/unhappy to do something
▪ It made me sad to see her looking so old and ill.
▷ upset /ʌpˈset/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel sad and want to cry :
▪ I’m sorry if I upset you - I didn’t mean to.
▪ The idea of having to change school seemed to upset him more than we thought it would.
it upsets somebody to do something
▪ Her father died when she was ten, and it still upsets her to think about it.
▷ sadden /ˈsædn/ [transitive verb]
if a situation or event saddens someone, it makes them feel sad, especially because they think that this type of situation or event should not happen :
▪ Everyone was saddened by the news that housing is to be built on the fields beside Cliff Lane.
▪ Those of us who knew him are shocked and saddened by his death.
it saddens somebody to do something
▪ Sometimes it saddened him to think that he was no longer young.
it saddens somebody that
▪ It saddens me that there are people who go around vandalizing public places like this.
▷ depress /dɪˈpres/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel very sad or unhappy, especially so that they feel that only bad things happen and they cannot change the situation :
▪ Listening to the news can really depress you, if you let it.
▪ Shaun decided to leave. The way the others were behaving was beginning to depress him.
it depresses somebody to do something
▪ It depressed me to think that five years ago I was earning more than I do now.
▷ get somebody down /ˌget somebody ˈdaʊn/ [transitive phrasal verb] informal
to gradually make someone feel unhappy and tired over a period of time :
▪ The endless rain was beginning to get him down.
▪ You can tell me if there’s anything that’s worrying you or getting you down.
▷ break somebody’s heart /ˌbreɪk somebodyˈs ˈhɑːʳt/ [verb phrase]
to make someone very sad and upset, especially because a relationship has ended or because they are very disappointed :
▪ When Annie left him, it broke his heart.
it breaks somebody’s heart (that)
▪ It breaks my heart that his career has been ruined.
it breaks somebody’s heart to do something
▪ It would break her heart to leave the lovely old stone house where she’d lived for so long.
▷ be a downer /biː ə ˈdaʊnəʳ/ [verb phrase] spoken
if something is a downer, it makes you feel unhappy, especially because it is not good or successful :
▪ I thought the movie was going to be a total downer, but it wasn’t.
on a downer
▪ The home team concluded its season on a big downer with a 2- 0 defeat.
▷ drive somebody to despair /ˌdraɪv somebody tə dɪˈspeəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to make someone feel very unhappy and without hope - use this especially when a bad situation is continuing and they cannot see how to change it :
▪ There were times when the endless arguments drove him to despair.
▪ By the time I was 17, the atmosphere at the school was driving me to despair.
6. to feel sad and pity yourself
▷ feel sorry for yourself /fiːl ˈsɒri fəʳ jɔːʳselfǁ-ˈsɑːri-/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to spend a lot of time thinking about how unlucky you are or how unfairly you have been treated, in a way that annoys other people :
▪ Stop blaming other people and feeling sorry for yourself.
▪ Andy was drinking too much again, and feeling sorry for himself.
▷ mope /məʊp/ [intransitive verb]
to feel unhappy because of something bad that has happened, and to not be interested in doing anything, in a way that other people think is not reasonable :
▪ Don’t just lie there moping, waiting for the phone to ring.
mope around/about
go around a place moping
▪ He’s not even attempting to look for a job -- he just mopes around the house all day.
mope over
▪ There’s no point moping over Jane - she’s not worth it.
▷ wallow in /ˈwɒləʊ ɪnǁˈwɑː-/ [transitive phrasal verb not in passive]
wallow in self-pity/despair/misery etc
to keep thinking about how unhappy you are, in a way that makes other people think that you are actually enjoying feeling sorry for yourself and do not want to feel happier :
▪ She told herself that she must try and learn from his criticism, rather than wallowing in self-pity.
▪ It’s no good wallowing in misery. You just have to get out there and find another job.
▷ self-pity /ˌself ˈpɪti/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling you have when you feel sorry for yourself, because you think that you have been very unlucky or that you have been treated unfairly :
▪ If you feel a wave of self-pity coming on, go and talk about it with friends.
▪ Jenny told her story without any of the self-pity that I thought I would feel after such an ordeal.
7. to feel sad because someone has died
▷ grieve /griːv/ [intransitive/transitive verb not in passive]
to feel extremely sad because someone that you love has died :
▪ It is a terrible tragedy for this small community. Everyone here is grieving.
grieve for/over
▪ Millet continued to grieve for his wife for many years after her death.
grieve somebody’s death/loss
▪ People must be allowed to grieve the loss of a relative for as long as they need to.
grieving [adjective]
▪ the grieving families of the dead
▷ be in mourning /biː ɪn ˈmɔːʳnɪŋ/ [verb phrase]
to feel sadness and respect for someone who has died, and to show this by the way you behave publicly, the clothes you wear etc :
▪ The whole town is in mourning after two boys died on a school trip to the US.
▪ In those days you were expected to wear black while you were in mourning.
be in mourning for
▪ The sport was united in mourning for Maskell, as a player, coach and commentator for most of the century.
▷ mourn /mɔːʳn/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to feel very sad because someone has died, and to show this in the way you behave :
▪ All the neighbours and relations who had come to mourn stood around the coffin.
mourn for
▪ My mother never stopped mourning for my sister Frances, who died when she was four.
mourn somebody’s death/loss
▪ His death was mourned by hundreds of former pupils and countless friends.
▷ mourning /ˈmɔːʳnɪŋ/ [uncountable noun]
the things people do and they way they behave, dress etc to show their sadness and respect for someone who has died - use this especially about formal or traditional actions and ceremonies :
▪ Mourning for the death of your husband used to last up to a year.
day of mourning
an official period of mourning
▪ Friday was declared an international day of mourning for the victims.
8. a sad feeling
▷ sadness /ˈsædnɪs, ˈsædnəs/ [uncountable noun]
a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else’s unhappiness :
▪ Her eyes were full of sadness.
with (great) sadness
▪ I remembered with great sadness all the friends I had left behind.
sense of sadness
▪ After her death, Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss.
▷ unhappiness /ʌnˈhæpinɪs, ʌnˈhæpinəs/ [uncountable noun]
the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation :
▪ After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him.
▪ There is no doubt that unhappiness contributes to ill health.
▪ You’ve no idea what unhappiness you cause your parents when you say that you want to leave home.
▷ grief /griːf/ [uncountable noun] especially written
great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died :
▪ Thousands of people sent floral tributes as an expression of their grief.
▪ He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
▷ depression /dɪˈpreʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
a mental illness that makes someone feel so unhappy that they have no energy or hope for the future, and they cannot live a normal life :
▪ The family had a history of alcoholism and depression.
▪ Mild symptoms of anxiety and depression are often associated with social difficulties.
deep/severe depression
▪ My father had suffered from severe depression for many years.
▷ the blues /ðə ˈbluːz/ [plural noun]
a feeling of sadness that is not very serious, that you get sometimes for no particular reason :
get/have the blues
▪ I often get the blues in February, before the spring arrives.
a fit of the blues
▪ It’s very common for new mothers to have a fit of the blues after giving birth.
the Monday/post-Christmas etc blues
▪ Most people know what it’s like to have the Monday morning blues.
▷ misery /ˈmɪz ə ri/ [uncountable noun]
great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions :
▪ The high interest rates caused misery for millions of people.
the misery of something/somebody
▪ He talked openly about the misery of his marriage.
▪ We cannot ignore the misery of the people in this country who are forced to live on the streets.
▷ melancholy /ˈmelənk ə liǁ-kɑːli/ [uncountable noun] written
a feeling of sadness, especially one that continues for a long time :
▪ He was a strange man, prone to melancholy and bouts of drinking.
▪ Jake was fourteen and suffering from adolescent melancholy.
▷ sorrow /ˈsɒrəʊǁˈsɑː-, ˈsɔː-/ [uncountable noun] written
the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you :
▪
deep/great sorrow
▪ The deep sorrow she felt was obvious in the expression of her face.
in sorrow
▪ He turned quickly away, more in sorrow than in anger.
to somebody’s sorrow
▪ Six weeks later we heard, to our great sorrow, that he had died.
▷ heartache /ˈhɑːʳteɪk/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of unhappiness and worry, that often continues for a long time and is usually caused by problems in your personal life and relationships :
▪ Her relationship with Tyler had brought her a great deal of heartache.
▪ Being unpopular at school can cause real heartache to children of any age.
save/spare (somebody) a lot of heartache
stop someone worrying and feeling unhappy
▪ If she had simply called them, her parents would have been spared a lot of heartache.
▷ despondency /dɪˈspɒndənsiǁ-ˈspɑːn-/ [uncountable noun] formal
a feeling of unhappiness, especially because you have been very disappointed and feel that you cannot change a situation :
▪ Robyn walked away from the hospital with a feeling of despondency.
▪ The sense of well-being of the 1980s was replaced by a mood of despondency.
gloom/doom and despondency
▪ The atmosphere amongst the workers was one of gloom and despondency.
▷ despair /dɪˈspeəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change :
▪ I could see hunger, exhaustion and despair in their eyes.
▪ There was a mood of despair about the quality of urban and industrial life.
in despair
▪ Left all alone in her room, she was in despair.
the depths of despair
▪ It seems that he had reached the depths of despair, and he finally took his own life.
9. to make somebody feel less sad
▷ cheer somebody up /ˌtʃɪəʳ somebody ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to make someone feel happier when they are disappointed or sad about something :
▪ Is there anything we can do to cheer you up?
▪ She failed her test, so I’m taking her out to cheer her up.
▷ comfort /ˈkʌmfəʳt/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel less upset by being kind to them and telling them not to worry :
▪ Bill stroked her hair gently, trying to comfort her.
▪ We did our best to comfort him, but he was obviously very upset.
▷ cheer up /ˌtʃɪər ˈʌp/ [] spoken
say this to tell someone to stop feeling disappointed or sad and try to be more cheerful :
▪ Cheer up, Phil! It’s only a game, and you can’t win every time.
▪ Cheer up! It’s not the end of the world.
▷ it’s all right/it’s OK /ɪts ˌɔːl ˈraɪt, ɪts ˌəʊ ˈkeɪ/ spoken
say this to make someone feel calmer or make them stop crying, when they are very upset and worried about something :
▪ It’s all right, honey, I’m here now.