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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.—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
Here, sadly, a template was being set for Fuller’s existence as a social being.
—James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
As such, the vast majority of professional women in our workforce have interrupted careers; sadly, the resultant gaps on their resumés make resuming work and maintaining traction exceedingly difficult, sometimes impossible.
—Susan Rietano Davey, Hartford Courant, 30 May 2025
The couple, who tied the knot in August 2015, shared that the happy news came right after Michaela's grandfather sadly passed on May 13.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 28 May 2025
The leadership toxicity is sadly nothing new, though there’s one point in here about Bungie allegedly buying pricey penthouses for some higher tiers of management.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
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James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
As such, the vast majority of professional women in our workforce have interrupted careers; sadly, the resultant gaps on their resumés make resuming work and maintaining traction exceedingly difficult, sometimes impossible.
—Susan Rietano Davey, Hartford Courant, 30 May 2025
The couple, who tied the knot in August 2015, shared that the happy news came right after Michaela's grandfather sadly passed on May 13.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 28 May 2025
The leadership toxicity is sadly nothing new, though there’s one point in here about Bungie allegedly buying pricey penthouses for some higher tiers of management.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 May 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 7 Jun. 2025.
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