Sad Meaning
/ˈsæd/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjEmotionally negative.
adjEmotionally negative., Feeling sorrow; sorrowful, mournful.
Sentence Examples
When I woke up, I was sad.
This is such a sad story.
We are very sad to hear that you are leaving.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After losing his dog, the little boy felt very ____ and cried all night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children felt ____ when they learned their beloved teacher was leaving the school.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English sad, from Old English sæd (“satisfied, full, sated, unable to handle more, weary”), from Proto-West Germanic *sad, from Proto-Germanic *sadaz (“sated, satisfied”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂- (“to satiate, satisfy”). Cognate to Saterland Frisian sääd, West Frisian sêd, Dutch zat, German Low German satt, German satt. The interjection sense is a reference to frequent usage of the word as an interjection in the tweets of Q22686, American businessman and politician (born 1946), President of the United States (2017–2021); a Trumpism.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Firſt were we ſad, fearing you would not come, / Now ſadder that you come ſo vnprouided:[…]"
— c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 219, column 2:
"[…]Th’ Angelic Guards aſcended, mute and ſad[…]"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, line 18:
"We need a sad man. Give us a sad man.” Tomo gave the look of a sad man, then followed with the body of a sad man. “That's it, more of that. can you manufacture a mole right here? Yes, a very ugly mole. Right here, on the chin.[…]"
— 2010 February 26, Eric Rentschler, Itoh's Ghost, iUniverse, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 54:
"The Great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, / For all their wars are merry and all their songs are sad."
— 1911, G. K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse:
"The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After losing his dog, the little boy felt very ____ and cried all night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children felt ____ when they learned their beloved teacher was leaving the school.