SADNESS

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does sadness mean? 

• SADNESS (noun)
  The noun SADNESS has 3 senses:

1. emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being

2. the state of being sad

3. the quality of excessive mournfulness and uncheerfulness

  Familiarity information: SADNESS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SADNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

sadness; unhappiness

Hypernyms ("sadness" is a kind of...):

feeling (the experiencing of affective and emotional states)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sadness"):

dolefulness (sadness caused by grief or affliction)

heaviness (persisting sadness)

melancholy (a feeling of thoughtful sadness)

misery (a feeling of intense unhappiness)

desolation; forlornness; loneliness (sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned)

tearfulness; weepiness (sadness expressed by weeping)

sorrow (an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement)

regret; rue; ruefulness; sorrow (sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment)

cheerlessness; uncheerfulness (a feeling of dreary or pessimistic sadness)

depression (sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy)

dejectedness; dispiritedness; downheartedness; low-spiritedness; lowness (a feeling of low spirits)

Antonym:

happiness (emotions experienced when in a state of well-being)

Derivation:

sad (experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of being sad

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

sadness; sorrow; sorrowfulness

Context example:

she tired of his perpetual sadness

Hypernyms ("sadness" is a kind of...):

unhappiness (state characterized by emotions ranging from mild discontentment to deep grief)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sadness"):

bereavement; mourning (state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one)

poignance; poignancy (a state of deeply felt distress or sorrow)

Derivation:

sad (experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The quality of excessive mournfulness and uncheerfulness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

gloominess; lugubriousness; sadness

Hypernyms ("sadness" is a kind of...):

uncheerfulness (not conducive to cheer or good spirits)

Derivation:

sad (bad; unfortunate)

sad (of things that make you feel sad)

 Context examples 

Mental reactions can include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness and despair.

(Bereavement, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

A melancholy feeling of sadness and despair.

(Depression, NCI Thesaurus)

His sadness was not untouched with bitterness as he thought it over.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

She smiled; with a quiet sadness, I thought; and shook her head.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A question about an individual's distress related to their emotional problems with sadness.

(Distress over Emotional Problem with Sadness, NCI Thesaurus)

Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 17 Item (HAMD-17) Depressed mood: sadness, hopeless, helpless, worthless.

(HAMD-17 - Depressed Mood, NCI Thesaurus)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient show any other signs of depression or sadness?

(NPI - Show Any Other Signs of Depression or Sadness, NCI Thesaurus)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient have periods of tearfulness or sobbing that seem to indicate sadness?

(NPI - Periods of Tearfulness or Sobbing, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about whether an individual has or had a low mood, sadness, depression, or easy crying.

(Have Low Mood, Sadness, or Depression, NCI Thesaurus)

Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 21 Item (HAMD-21) Depressed mood; sadness, hopeless, helpless, worthless.

(HAMD-21 - Depressed Mood, NCI Thesaurus)