Standard Lemma guide

unhappiness

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N HH AE1 P IY0 N IH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The feeling of not being happy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: melancholy, misery, blueness, tristesse, mirthless, blues, crestfallenness, dejection, depression, despondency, distress, dolefulness, downheartedness, drearihead, forlornness, grief, heartsore, ill-being, infelicity, melancholia, mishappiness, mourn, prosternation, regret, rue, ruth, sadness, sorrow, sorrowfulness, tristfulness, undelight, unhappiness, woe, woefare, wretchedness

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sadness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feeling

Narrower terms: dolefulness, heaviness, melancholy, misery, forlornness, loneliness, desolation, weepiness, tearfulness, sorrow, regret, rue, ruefulness, cheerlessness, uncheerfulness, depression, downheartedness, dejectedness, low-spiritedness, lowness, dispiritedness

3

noun

Meaning 3

state characterized by emotions ranging from mild discontentment to deep grief

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: happiness

Broader terms: emotional state, spirit

Narrower terms: embitterment, sadness, sorrow, sorrowfulness

History

Etymology

From unhappy + -ness or un- + happiness.

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: нещастие (neštastie) — feeling of not being happy
  • Catalan: infelicitat — feeling of not being happy
  • Czech: neštěstí — feeling of not being happy
  • Dutch: ongelukkigheid — feeling of not being happy
  • Esperanto: malfeliĉo — feeling of not being happy
  • Esperanto: malfeliĉeco — feeling of not being happy
  • Finnish: ilottomuus — feeling of not being happy
  • French: tristesse — feeling of not being happy
  • French: malheur — feeling of not being happy
  • French: infélicité — feeling of not being happy
  • German: Traurigkeit — feeling of not being happy
  • German: Unglück — feeling of not being happy
  • Greek: δυστυχία (dystychía) — feeling of not being happy
  • Hungarian: boldogtalanság — feeling of not being happy
  • Ido: desfeliceso — feeling of not being happy
  • Irish: anaoibhneas — feeling of not being happy
  • Italian: infelicità — feeling of not being happy
  • Japanese: 不幸 (fukō) — feeling of not being happy
  • Polish: nieszczęście — feeling of not being happy
  • Portuguese: infelicidade — feeling of not being happy
  • Romanian: nefericire — feeling of not being happy
  • Russian: несча́стье (nesčástʹje) — feeling of not being happy
  • Slovak: nešťastie — feeling of not being happy
  • Slovak: trápenie — feeling of not being happy
  • Spanish: infelicidad — feeling of not being happy
  • Swedish: olycka — feeling of not being happy
  • Turkish: mutsuzluk — feeling of not being happy
  • Welsh: anhapusrwydd — feeling of not being happy