Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - sad

~ adj 1 »UNHAPPY« unhappy, but especially because something unpleasant has happened to you or someone else  (What's the matter with him? He looks so sad. | be sad to do sth)  (I was sad to see them go in the end.) + abou  (I was glad to be going home, but sad about the friends I was leaving behind.) sad smile/face/expression etc  (There was such a sad look in her eyes.)  (- opposite happy (1)) 2 »STH THAT MAKES YOU SAD« a sad event, situation etc makes you feel unhappy  (A special meeting was called to announce the sad news of his death. | sad book/song/film etc)  (What a sad movie! I cried all the way through. | it is sad that)  (It's sad that James can't be with us. | it is sad to see/hear etc)  (It was sad to see all that food going to waste. | sad time/day/moment etc)  (This is a sad day for all of us.) 3 »NOT SATISFACTORY« only before noun a sad situation is very bad or unacceptable  (sad state of affairs (=bad situation))  (It's a sad state of affairs when you can't go out at night for fear of being attacked. | the sad fact is (that) spoken)  (The sad fact is that prejudice and discrimination still exist. | sad to say spoken)  (Sad to say, we never found them.) 4 »LONELY« a sad person or someone who has a sad life seems lonely and unhappy and you feel sorry for them  (She's a sad character - I don't think she has any friends at all. | sad case (=someone you feel sorry for)) 5 »BORING« spoken slang used to say that someone or something is boring and unfashionable  (I think Carole's a bit of a sad name. Oh, sorry, is your mum called Carole? | sad bastard)  (Get a life, you sad bastard.) 6 sadder but wiser having learned something from an unpleasant experience  (He came out of the relationship sadder but wiser.) - sadness n  (- see also sadly)