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What was top-of-the-line when the house was built was by now sadly outdated.—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 EwingSynonyms
Examples of sadly in a Sentence
sadly she told us how her dog died
Recent Examples on the Web
So sadly, Laney and I were just getting more and more in that island of isolation.
—Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 21 May 2024
It was subsequently towed back to the U.K., sadly limping into Dover harbor on England’s south coast.
—Tom Rivers, ABC News, 18 May 2024
Greenhalgh’s script sadly offers Blake a more measured and thoughtful rendering than Winehouse, so much so that Blake's acts of violence and brushes with the law are discordant with the person he is presented as.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 May 2024
The two weren't able to patch things up by the reunion's end, sadly.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
That’s almost like a 50-minute episode, so sadly they got cut.
—Cameron K McEwan, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024
The duo lost six weeks in, sadly dancing their last dance on the April 12th episode.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2024
Preston sadly died in July 2020 two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Yet sadly, when one’s entire career is built on such an efficient way of offing another who is (or isn’t) guilty, and that disappears, other forms of corporal punishment don’t satisfy in the same way.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 21 May 2024
It was subsequently towed back to the U.K., sadly limping into Dover harbor on England’s south coast.
—Tom Rivers, ABC News, 18 May 2024
Greenhalgh’s script sadly offers Blake a more measured and thoughtful rendering than Winehouse, so much so that Blake's acts of violence and brushes with the law are discordant with the person he is presented as.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 May 2024
The two weren't able to patch things up by the reunion's end, sadly.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 13 May 2024
That’s almost like a 50-minute episode, so sadly they got cut.
—Cameron K McEwan, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024
The duo lost six weeks in, sadly dancing their last dance on the April 12th episode.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2024
Preston sadly died in July 2020 two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2024
Yet sadly, when one’s entire career is built on such an efficient way of offing another who is (or isn’t) guilty, and that disappears, other forms of corporal punishment don’t satisfy in the same way.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sadly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sadly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sadly. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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