First Known Use: 13th century
Dictionary
sad
adjective \ˈsad\
sad·dersad·dest
Definition of SAD
1
a : affected with or expressive of grief or unhappiness : downcast b (1) : causing or associated with grief or unhappiness : depressing <sad news> (2) : regrettable, deplorable <a sad relaxation of morals — C. W. Cunnington> c : of little worth
2
: of a dull somber color
— sad·ly adverb
— sad·ness noun
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Origin of SAD
Middle English, from Old English sæd sated; akin to Old High German sat sated, Latin satis enough
Related to SAD
- Synonyms
- bad, blue, brokenhearted, cast down, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, doleful, down, downcast, downhearted, down in the mouth, droopy, forlorn, gloomy, glum, hangdog, heartbroken, heartsick, heartsore, heavyhearted, inconsolable, joyless, low, low-spirited, melancholic, melancholy, miserable, mournful, saddened, sorrowful, sorry, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, wretched
SAD
abbreviation
Definition of SAD
seasonal affective disorder
Other Psychology Terms
SAD Defined for Kids
sad
adjective \ˈsad\
sad·dersad·dest
Definition of SAD for Kids
1
: feeling or showing sorrow or unhappiness <I'm sad that you're leaving.> <The dog had sad eyes.>
2
: causing sorrow or unhappiness <sad news>
— sad·ly adverb
— sad·ness noun
Word History of SAD
The word sad goes far back into the past of the English language, though modern meanings such as “unhappy” or “causing sorrow” give us little idea of its history. It comes from the Old English word sæd, which meant “full, having had enough,” a sense matched by related words in other languages, such as German satt. In Middle English, sad continued to mean “full,” but it also developed many other senses, such as “firmly established, fixed,” “solid, weighty,” “sober, serious,” “true, real,” and “deep, intense (of a color).” The meaning “sorrowful” was in use fairly early, by about 1300, though strangely enough only this sense among all the others has lasted into modern English.
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