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REFERENCE

sadly

adv. sent.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈsædɫi// UK //sˈædli// sad·ly Archaic General-service

adv. in a way that shows you are unhappy or feeling sorrow. You can also use it at the start of a sentence to say that something is unfortunate.

adv. in a sorrowful or unhappy manner; also used as a disjunct to express the speaker's regret regarding a situation.


SIMPLE

He looked at the broken toy sadly.

CONTEXTUAL

Sadly, the local library will close next month due to a lack of funding.

COMPLEX

The old man smiled sadly as he looked through the faded photographs of his childhood home, knowing he could never return to that simpler time.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English sadly; equivalent to sad + -ly.

Usage

When modifying a whole sentence, it usually appears at the beginning followed by a comma; as a manner adverb, it follows the verb.

Pitfall

He sadly said goodbye.He said goodbye sadly.When describing the manner of an action, the adverb usually follows the verb or the object rather than sitting between the subject and verb.

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