SAD


Meaning of SAD in English

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.

|

a sad and lonely figure

|

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

|

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?

|

the gloomy immigration office

|

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.

|

a downcast expression

|

He was understandably downcast after the team’s loss.

▪ mournful especially literary looking or sounding sad:

the dog’s big mournful eyes

|

the mournful sound of the church bell

|

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.

|

Her life was miserable.

|

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

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.