Word.ws English Dictionary

sadlier

sadlier is the comparative form of sadly.

Meaning of sadly

Adverb

sadly (comparative sadlier or more sadly, superlative sadliest or most sadly)

  1. In a sad manner; sorrowfully.
    • “Only when we climb up can we see it,” he said sadly.
  2. Unfortunately, sad to say.
    • If you think you’re getting out of this place alive, you are sadly mistaken, my friend.
  3. In a manner to cause sadness; badly; terribly.
    • The people of Ebeltoft were once sadly plagued by them, as they plundered their pantries in a most unconscionable manner; so they consulted a very wise and pious man and his advice was, that they should hang a bell in the steeple of the church.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 161
  4. (dated) Very much (of a desire etc.); dearly; urgently.
    • "Don't ask me: don't make me talk of it," she answered. "I'm not fit now. I have been cruelly used and cruelly wronged. You will be kinder than ever, if you will walk on fast, and not speak to me. I sadly want to quiet myself, if I can."1859, Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White
  5. (obsolete) Deeply, completely.
    • By my feythe sayd syre launcelot in that pauelione wil I lodge alle this nyghte / and soo there he alyghte doune and tayed his hors to the pauelione / and there he vnarmed hym / and there he fond a bedde / and layd hym theryn / and felle on slepe sadly1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “iiij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book VI

Questions about sadlier

What is sadlier the comparative form of?
Sadlier is the comparative form of sadly.

Words near sadlier in the dictionary

  1. Sadler effect
  2. Sadlermiut
  3. sadleroside
  4. Sadlers
  5. sadless
  6. sadlier
  7. sadliest
  8. Sadlowski
  9. Sadlowskis
  10. sadly
  11. SADM

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sadlier (page history and authors); sadly (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “sadlier.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sadlier. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.