unhappily

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ʌnˈhæpəli/ UK /ʌnˈhæpɪli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a sad manner; unfortunately

Unhappily, the rain ruined the entire outdoor ceremony.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a sad manner; unfortunately sadly miserably wretchedly dejectedly unfortunately regrettably

Opposites

happily cheerfully joyfully gladly

Word family

Related forms happy unhappy unhappiness happily

Etymology

From unhappy (un- 'not' + happy, from hap 'chance, luck', from Old Norse happ 'good luck') + -ly.

un- Old English happ Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Word Formation & Derivatives

# unhappily

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ʌnˈhæpəli
**IPA (UK):** ʌnˈhæpɪli

## Meanings
1. in a sad manner; unfortunately

## Examples
- Unhappily, the rain ruined the entire outdoor ceremony.

## Synonyms
- sadly
- miserably
- wretchedly
- dejectedly
- unfortunately
- regrettably

## Antonyms
- happily
- cheerfully
- joyfully
- gladly

## Related Forms
- happy
- unhappy
- unhappiness
- happily

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: happ

## Etymology
From unhappy (un- 'not' + happy, from hap 'chance, luck', from Old Norse happ 'good luck') + -ly.

## AI Etymology
Unhappily is from unhappy (un- 'not' + happy, from hap 'chance, luck', from Old Norse happ 'good luck') + -ly. Important recorded forms include un- (Old English) and happ (Old Norse). Morphologically, the un- element marks negation, reversal, removal, or deprivation, while the base supplies the action, quality, or state being denied or undone. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers in a sad manner; unfortunately. The wider family includes related words such as happy, unhappy, unhappiness, and happily.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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unhappily

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