unhappy
adjective
un·hap·py
ˌən-ˈha-pē 
1
a
: not cheerful or glad : sad, wretched
didn't know why the child was so unhappy
I left the store an unhappy [=dissatisfied] customer.
—often used with with,about, orthatThey were unhappy with the way things turned out.
The children were unhappy about going back to school.
I'm unhappy that my best friend is moving.
b
: causing or involving feelings of sadness : not pleasant or joyful
an unhappy marriage/childhood
spent several unhappy hours stuck at the airport
2
: not fortunate : unlucky
an unhappy coincidence
3
a
: causing or subject to misfortune : inauspicious
a particularly unhappy moment for the story to leak
b
: infelicitous, inappropriate
an unhappy choice
unhappiness
noun
Examples of unhappy in a Sentence
I can see that he's unhappy, but I don't know why.
I've never seen her looking so unhappy.
For three unhappy days we were all stuck in the house because of the blizzard.
an unhappy choice of career
The movie's hero meets an unhappy fate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tessa Thompson stars as the title character, an unhappy wife who uses an extravagant party at their home to help advance her husband's career by executing a series of manipulations.
—
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Dec. 2025
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are also unhappy with the high level of redactions found in the cache of files.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 22 Dec. 2025
In effect, Jarmusch is standing Tolstoy on his head and suggesting that unhappy families share common forms of misery, whereas the happy ones are happy precisely because of their differences—because of the idiosyncrasies that place them outside convention.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
During the joint meeting in November, Ryan mentioned how someone unhappy with that decision came to his home.
—Dennis Valera, CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappy
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Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Dec. 2025
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are also unhappy with the high level of redactions found in the cache of files.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 22 Dec. 2025
In effect, Jarmusch is standing Tolstoy on his head and suggesting that unhappy families share common forms of misery, whereas the happy ones are happy precisely because of their differences—because of the idiosyncrasies that place them outside convention.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
During the joint meeting in November, Ryan mentioned how someone unhappy with that decision came to his home.
—Dennis Valera, CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappy
Cite this Entry
“Unhappy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unhappy. Accessed 3 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unhappy
adjective
un·hap·py
ˌən-ˈhap-ē
1
: not fortunate : unlucky
an unhappy mistake
2
: not cheerful : sad
3
: inappropriate
an unhappy color combination
unhappily
adverb
-ˈhap-ə-lē
unhappiness
noun
-ˈhap-i-nəs
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