sadden

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈsædən/ UK /ˈsædən/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like sodden /æ/ vs /ɑ/

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become sorrowful

It saddened her to see the old orchard cut down.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become sorrowful depress grieve dishearten dispirit upset aggrieve deject

Opposites

gladden cheer delight please

Word family

Derived forms saddeningsaddened

Related forms sad sadness sadly

Etymology

Formed from the adjective sad + the verb-forming suffix -en; sad derives from Old English sæd ('sated, weary'), from Proto-Germanic *sadaz, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂- ('to satiate').

sæd Old English *sadaz Proto-Germanic *seh₂- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# sadden

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈsædən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsædən/

## Meanings
1. to make or become sorrowful

## Examples
- It saddened her to see the old orchard cut down.

## Synonyms
- depress
- grieve
- dishearten
- dispirit
- upset
- aggrieve
- deject

## Antonyms
- gladden
- cheer
- delight
- please

## Derived Forms
- saddening
- saddened

## Related Forms
- sad
- sadness
- sadly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sæd
- Root: *sadaz
- Root: *seh₂-

## Etymology
Formed from the adjective sad + the verb-forming suffix -en; sad derives from Old English sæd ('sated, weary'), from Proto-Germanic *sadaz, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂- ('to satiate').

## AI Etymology
Sadden was formed from the adjective sad + the verb-forming suffix -en; sad derives from Old English sæd ('sated, weary'), from Proto-Germanic *sadaz, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂- ('to satiate'). The historical chain includes Old English sæd, Proto-Germanic *sadaz, and Proto-Indo-European *seh₂-. Older glosses in the chain include "sated, weary" and "to satiate", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, sadden is best read as compound, suffixal formation, and borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to make or become sorrowful". English derivatives include saddening and saddened; related forms include sad, sadness, and sadly. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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