Meaning & use

sadden

verb·Academic

To make someone feel sad or sorrowful, typically in response to unfortunate or upsetting news.

See it in a sentence

The news of the factory's closure saddened everyone who depended on it for work.

It saddens me to see the old theater standing empty after so many happy memories there.

A note on using this word

Sadden is often used in the passive, as in he was saddened by the loss, or impersonally, as in it saddens me.

Words with a similar meaning

upsetgrieve

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

cheergladden

Make it your own

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