sadness

American  

[sad-nis] / ˈsæd nɪs /

noun

1. the quality or state of being sad; sorrow.

   It’s frustrating to know the sadness you’re feeling and not be able to help you.

2. an instance of sorrow.

   How can you be so unaware of the sadnesses these children have experienced?

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Etymology

Origin of sadness

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sadnesse; sad ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Someone who's blue feels sadness, like a little girl whose best friend has moved away. Use the noun sadness when you're talking about sorrow. Sadness may be the overwhelming mood at a funeral, for example, or an elderly man might describe his life's greatest sadness as letting his childhood sweetheart get away. An interesting thing about sadness is that its original meaning was "seriousness." It wasn't until the 1600s that it came to mean "full of sorrow."

Example Sentences

But, in the midst of feeling joyful connection, I also felt sadness nestled next to that joy.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

Haiti's prime minister's office expressed "deep sadness" in a government statement posted on Facebook, adding that the crush occurred during "a tourist activity bringing together many young people."

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

The scene in which Biff almost violently embraces Willy and tries—in vain—to make him discard his illusions scorches with its sadness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

It’s a medicated but functioning limbo that Peet, in one of her best roles, conveys without the slightest trace of pity but with a coursing, wryly emotional intelligence that always reveals the sadness fueling it.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

But Togbe wasn’t lost in sadness this time.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• anguish
• grief
• heartache
• heartbreak
• hopelessness
• melancholy
• misery
• mourning
• poignancy
• sorrow