adj
sad
SAD
adj
1
Feeling sorrow or unhappiness.
"She felt sad after saying goodbye to her old friends."
"He looked sad all through dinner."
2
Causing sorrow; regrettable.
"It was a sad story about a family torn apart by war."
3
Informal: pathetic or of poor quality.
"That excuse was a pretty sad attempt to avoid blame."
How to Use Sad
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishFeeling or causing unhappiness.
Common pairings
feel sad
a sad story
sad news
Word Forms
sadder comparative, more sad comparative, sadded past tense, sads singular, saddest superlative, most sad superlative
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Etymology
From Old English sæd, originally meaning "full" or "sated" — the modern sense of unhappiness developed later, via a stage meaning "serious" or "grave."