sad S2 W3 /sæd/ BrE AmE adjective ( comparative sadder , superlative saddest )
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ sadness , ↑ saddo ; adjective : ↑ sad , ↑ saddening ; verb : ↑ sadden ; adverb : ↑ sadly ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: sæd 'having had enough' ]
1 . FEELING UNHAPPY not happy, especially because something unpleasant has happened OPP happy
feel/look/sound sad
Dad looked sad and worried as he read the letter.
be sad to hear/see/read etc something
I was very sad to hear that he had died.
sad that
Lilly felt sad that Christmas was over.
sad about
I was sad about the friends I was leaving behind.
sad smile/face/expression etc
There was such a sad look in her eyes.
2 . MAKING YOU UNHAPPY a sad event, situation etc makes you feel unhappy:
Sorry to hear the sad news.
It was a sad case. The boy ended up in prison.
sad story/song/film etc
a story with a sad ending
it is sad to see/hear etc something
It was sad to see them arguing.
sad time/day/moment etc
This is a sad day for us all.
3 . NOT SATISFACTORY very bad or unacceptable:
There aren’t enough teachers, which is a sad state of affairs (=bad situation) .
it’s sad that/when/if ...
It’s sad if people are too afraid to go out alone at night.
the sad fact is (that) spoken :
The sad fact is that prejudice still exists.
Sad to say (=unfortunately) , the country is heading towards civil war.
4 . LONELY a sad person has a dull, unhappy, or lonely life:
She’s a sad character – without any friends at all.
5 . BORING informal boring or not deserving any respect:
Stay in on Saturday night? What a sad idea!
6 . sadder and/but wiser having learned something from an unpleasant experience:
He came out of the relationship sadder but wiser.
⇨ ↑ sadness
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ nouns
▪ a sad story/song/film
He had listened patiently to his client’s sad story about her awful life.
▪ sad news
It was with great shock that we heard the sad news that he had died.
▪ a sad fact
It’s a sad fact that a significant amount of crime is committed by young people.
▪ the sad truth
The sad truth is that the new law will not deter criminals.
▪ a sad day/time
I’m really disappointed that this happened. It’s a sad day for football.
▪ a sad case
Take the sad case of Gary Marsh, who was badly injured during a match.
▪ a sad ending
The film has a sad ending.
▪ the sad thing (=the sad part of a situation)
The sad thing is that there’s little we can do about the situation now.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ sad not happy:
She felt sad as she waved goodbye.
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a sad and lonely figure
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a sad face
|
a sad film
▪ unhappy sad, especially for a long time – used about people and periods of time:
I was unhappy at school.
|
an unhappy childhood
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He’s obviously a deeply unhappy person.
▪ homesick [not before noun] sad because you are away from your home, family, and friends:
She sometimes felt homesick when she first arrived in Japan.
▪ down [not before noun] informal feeling sad for a few hours or days, often for no reason:
Whenever I’m feeling down, I go out and buy myself some new clothes.
|
She’s been kind of down since that argument with Jack.
▪ gloomy looking or sounding sad and without hope – used about people, places, and weather:
Why are you all looking so gloomy?
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the gloomy immigration office
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a gloomy afternoon in February
▪ dejected/downcast looking sad and disappointed because something you hoped for did not happen:
‘I didn’t pass,’ he said, looking dejected.
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a downcast expression
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He was understandably downcast after the team’s loss.
▪ mournful especially literary looking or sounding sad:
the dog’s big mournful eyes
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the mournful sound of the church bell
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a mournful expression
▪ glum looking sad and disappointed:
Don’t look so glum! Maybe you’ll win next time.
|
They sat in glum silence.
▪ wistful especially literary looking a little sad and thoughtful, because you wish that the situation was different:
She looked at him with a wistful smile.
■ very sad
▪ miserable very sad, especially because you are lonely, cold, ill, or upset – used about people and periods of time:
I felt miserable and blamed myself for what had happened.
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Her life was miserable.
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I had a miserable time at college.
▪ depressed very sad and without hope for a long time, because things are wrong in your life or because of a medical condition:
After his wife left him, he became depressed and refused to talk to anyone.
▪ heartbroken extremely sad because of something that has happened to someone or something that you care about very much:
She was heartbroken when her dog died.
▪ distressed/distraught very upset because of something bad that has happened, so that you cannot think clearly:
She was very distressed when he left her.
|
The boy’s hospital bed was surrounded by distraught relatives.
▪ devastated [not before noun] extremely sad and shocked, because something very bad has happened:
The whole town was devastated by the tragedy.
■ COLLOCATIONS CHECK
▪ sad person/expression/story/song/film
▪ unhappy person/expression/childhood/marriage
▪ gloomy person/expression/place/weather
▪ dejected/downcast person/expression
▪ mournful sound/eyes/expression