1
: in a sad manner : in a way that shows sadness or unhappiness
They spoke sadly of their loss.
She shook her head sadly.
He walked away sadly.
2
: in a way that causes feelings of sadness, disappointment, or regret
a garden that has been sadly neglected for many years
What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.—
Sue Grafton
Sue GraftonThe Greek populations of these great cities are now sadly diminished or gone altogether, leaving them much duller places.—Robert Fox
Robert Fox3
: unfortunately
—used to say that something is sad, unfortunate, or regrettable
Sadly, you can upload a perfectly working website today and return a few months later to find that many of its external links have died off.—Matthew MacDonald
Matthew MacDonaldIs there a way to get the virus out of an afflicted cat's system? "Sadly, no," says Dr. [James] Richards.—Tom Ewing
Tom EwingExamples of sadly in a Sentence
sadly she told us how her dog died
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the biggest of these is a sadly inescapable one: What if Chadwick Boseman hadn’t died?
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2025
But sadly, neither of the adoptions in recent years in either Madison or Michigan survived for long, the Smithsonian report says.
—Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 31 July 2025
Honoring the dead Happy Gilmore 2 is not subtle in its attempts to honor the stars of the first film who have sadly passed away.
—Lauren Huff Published, EW.com, 25 July 2025
Smile sadly at her, his face an eerie twin of her own.
—Mona Awad, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadly
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Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2025
But sadly, neither of the adoptions in recent years in either Madison or Michigan survived for long, the Smithsonian report says.
—Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 31 July 2025
Honoring the dead Happy Gilmore 2 is not subtle in its attempts to honor the stars of the first film who have sadly passed away.
—Lauren Huff Published, EW.com, 25 July 2025
Smile sadly at her, his face an eerie twin of her own.
—Mona Awad, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadly
Cite this Entry
“Sadly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sadly. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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