as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
an unhappily married couple being counseled by a professional
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unhappily
Even high productivity numbers may not be enough to pay the government’s debts, and there will be many people unhappily and under-employed.
—
Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
But a Democratic victory in 2026 is not likely to end this cycle, in which majorities hate how both parties handle immigration and ping-pong unhappily between them.
—Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
The film centers on Westley (Cary Elwes), a farmhand who goes on a noble quest to rescue his beloved Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the clutches of the loathsome Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), to whom she's unhappily betrothed.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
One of the youngest of the MacKenzie brood (and often seen with sister Janet), Jocasta Cameron is sometimes callously honest, perpetually jealous of the attention Ellen gets, and unhappily married to an old man.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappily
Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
But a Democratic victory in 2026 is not likely to end this cycle, in which majorities hate how both parties handle immigration and ping-pong unhappily between them.
—Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
The film centers on Westley (Cary Elwes), a farmhand who goes on a noble quest to rescue his beloved Buttercup (Robin Wright) from the clutches of the loathsome Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon), to whom she's unhappily betrothed.
—James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
One of the youngest of the MacKenzie brood (and often seen with sister Janet), Jocasta Cameron is sometimes callously honest, perpetually jealous of the attention Ellen gets, and unhappily married to an old man.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhappily
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhappily
Adverb
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On February 20, 1933, a bitterly cold winter day, President Hoover had laid the cornerstone of the new archives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
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Players and owners fought bitterly about how many games should be played during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, settling on 60 games.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Adverb
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David Smith, one of the former owners, reports that despite its wild popularity, the original cake recipe sadly got lost.—
Nancy Vienneau,
Southern Living,
17 May 2026
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Hüller is having a hell of a year, winning the Silver Bear for her role as a woman passing herself off as a male soldier to claim an estate in Rose, and playing the wry, sadly pragmatic head of the international task force in Project Hail Mary, one of the biggest hits of the year.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Adverb
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Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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By now, the playbook is painfully predictable.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
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The 29-year-old influencer, best known as Corporate Natalie, has built an audience of more than 2 million followers by making corporate culture feel funny, relatable and painfully accurate.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
Adverb
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For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
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Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unhappily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhappily. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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