| / English Dictionary |
UNHAPPY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: unhappier , unhappiest
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Generalized feeling of distress
Synonyms:
distressed; dysphoric; unhappy
Classified under:
Also:
dejected (affected or marked by low spirits)
unhappy (experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent)
Derivation:
unhappiness (emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Marked by or producing unhappiness
Example:
unhappy caravans, straggling afoot through swamps and canebrakes
Synonyms:
infelicitous; unhappy
Classified under:
Similar:
unfortunate (not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
Example:
he looks so sad
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
lovesick (languishing because of love)
miserable; suffering; wretched (very unhappy; full of misery)
Also:
cheerless; depressing; uncheerful (causing sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy)
discontent; discontented (showing or experiencing dissatisfaction or restless longing)
dejected (affected or marked by low spirits)
distressed; dysphoric; unhappy (generalized feeling of distress)
infelicitous (not appropriate in application; defective)
sad (experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness)
sorrowful (experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss)
joyless (not experiencing or inspiring joy)
Attribute:
happiness (emotions experienced when in a state of well-being)
felicity; happiness (state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy)
Antonym:
happy (enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure)
Derivation:
unhappiness (emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being)
unhappiness (state characterized by emotions ranging from mild discontentment to deep grief)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Causing discomfort
Example:
the unhappy truth
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unpleasant (offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness)
Context examples:
My agreement was that James was to be brought up as their nephew, and that he should know nothing of his unhappy parents.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“It is my brother—my poor unhappy brother!” cried Alleyne, with his hand to his brow.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
'Offe Caraccas,' now; you see, here was some unhappy vessel boarded off that coast.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
"That would make me very unhappy," answered the china Princess.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue this unhappy family?
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"If I told you I had made a mistake? If I told you that I was very unhappy?—and I am. And I did make a mistake."
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
It would be an unhappy meeting for both of us, as well as for my mother.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Don't let them make YOU unhappy.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
But it was not altogether an unhappy bondage.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
But I know that there is foul play going on, and I want to help that unhappy man if I can.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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