sad ‧ ly /ˈsædli/ BrE AmE adverb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ sadness , ↑ saddo ; adjective : ↑ sad , ↑ saddening ; verb : ↑ sadden ; adverb : ↑ sadly ]
1 . in a way that shows that you are sad SYN unhappily :
Peter shook his head sadly.
2 . [sentence adverb] unfortunately:
Sadly, the business failed.
3 . very much – used when talking about bad situations or states:
The garden’s been sadly neglected.
Good restaurants were sadly lacking.
He was a popular man who will be sadly missed.
I’m afraid you’re going to be sadly disappointed.
If you think you’ll get any money from him, you’re sadly mistaken.