unhappy
Americanadjective
-
sad; miserable; wretched.
Why is she so unhappy?
- Synonyms:
- distressed, cheerless, downcast, sorrowful
-
unfortunate; unlucky.
an unhappy incident.
- Synonyms:
- hapless
-
unfavorable; inauspicious.
an unhappy omen.
- Synonyms:
- unpropitious
-
infelicitous; unsuitable.
an unhappy choice of words.
- Synonyms:
- inapt, inappropriate
-
Archaic. causing trouble; reprehensible; troublesome.
adjective
-
not joyful; sad or depressed
-
unfortunate or wretched
an unhappy fellow
-
tactless or inappropriate
an unhappy remark
-
archaic unfavourable
Other Word Forms
- unhappily adverb
- unhappiness noun
Etymology
Origin of unhappy
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English: “causing misfortune, objectionable”; un- 1 + happy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Can you reflect on what exactly is causing you to feel so burned out and unhappy at your job?
From MarketWatch
“You are only as happy as your unhappiest child, and me? I have so many.”
If we don’t do that, we tend to get really unhappy.
Wales' health minister says he voted against a landmark to legalise medically assisted deaths because he was unhappy with the legislation's safeguards.
From BBC
Handsome was unhappy because he had discovered that you should not make boasts about how much you love exploring and hiking and climbing if the truth is you absolutely don’t.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
