Standard Lemma guide

unhappy

adj · noun · verb · 10 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.

  • /ʌnˈhæpi/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æpi
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N HH AE1 P IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not happy; sad.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I am unhappy.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sad, lamentable, atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless, chopfallen, crestfallen, cut up, damp, dejected, depressed, despondent, disgruntled, disconsolate, disheartened, dismal, doleful, dolesome, down, down in the dumps, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, downsome, dull, elegiac, elegious, forlorn, gloomy, glum, grief-stricken, grieving, heavy-hearted, heartsore, heartsick, inconsolable, infelicitous, jawfallen, joyless, lachrymose, lamentful, low, low-spirited, lugubrious, lumpish, melancholic, melancholy, miserable, moody, mopey, morose, mournful, passionate, plaintive, Plutonian, Plutonic, querulous, ruthful, saddened, saturnine, shattered, solemn, sombre, sorrowful, sorrow-ridden, sorrowsome, spiritless, sullen, threnetic, threnetical, triste, tristful, uncheerful, uncheery, unconsolable, unhappy, unlively, wistful, woe, woebegone, woeful, wretched

Antonyms: delighted, exuberant, glad, happy, joyous, joyful

2

adj

Meaning 2

Not satisfied; unsatisfied.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • An unhappy customer is unlikely to return to your shop.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dissatisfied, uncontented

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Not lucky; unlucky.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

Examples

  • The doomed lovers must have been born under an unhappy star.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hapless, unpropitious, down on one's luck, fortuneless, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-starred, inauspicious, infelicitous, infortunate, luckless, misadventurous, mischanceful, misfortuned, peak, snakebit, thwart, unchancy, unfavourable, unfortunate, unhappy, unlucky, wanchancy

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Not suitable; unsuitable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unfit, inappropriate, bad, discommensurate, improper, inapt, incommensurate, inept, inopportune, out of line, out of order, out of place, unapt, unhappy, unseemly, unsuitable

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A person who is not happy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sadcase, sad panda, sad sack

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To make or become unhappy; to sadden.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deject, depress, aggrieve, besorrow, condole, darken, engrieve, erme, gloom, grieve, grieven, bleed, lament, moan, mourn, remorse, repent, regret, rue, sigh, sorrow, wayment, yearn, attrist, begloom, begrieve, pain, bring down, come down on, contristate, dash, desolate, dispirit, forset, get down, oppress, sadden, sadden up, tristitiate, ungladden, unhappy, upset

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective

Meaning 7

generalized feeling of distress

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dysphoric, distressed

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective

Meaning 8

experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unhappy over her departure
  • unhappy with her raise
  • after the argument they lapsed into an unhappy silence
  • had an unhappy time at school
  • the unhappy (or sad) news
  • he looks so sad

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: happy

9

adjective satellite

Meaning 9

marked by or producing unhappiness- American Guide Series

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • infelicitous circumstances
  • unhappy caravans, straggling afoot through swamps and canebrakes

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: infelicitous

Antonyms: none provided

10

adjective satellite

Meaning 10

causing discomfort

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the unhappy truth

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English unhappy; equivalent to un- + happy.

Across languages

Translations

100 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: لَعُوق (laʕūq) — not happy; sad
  • Armenian: դժբախտ (džbaxt) — not happy; sad
  • Bulgarian: нещастен (neštasten) — not happy; sad
  • Catalan: infeliç — not happy; sad
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不高興 /不高兴 (bù gāoxìng) — not happy; sad
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不開心 /不开心 (bù kāixīn) — not happy; sad
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不愉快 (bù yúkuài) — not happy; sad
  • Chinese Mandarin: 傷心 /伤心 (shāngxīn) — not happy; sad
  • Cornish: moredhek — not happy; sad
  • Czech: nešťastný — not happy; sad
  • Danish: ulykkelig — not happy; sad
  • Esperanto: malfeliĉa — not happy; sad
  • Estonian: õnnetu — not happy; sad
  • Finnish: onneton — not happy; sad
  • French: malheureux — not happy; sad
  • French: triste — not happy; sad
  • Georgian: მწუხარე (mc̣uxare) — not happy; sad
  • Georgian: სევდიანი (sevdiani) — not happy; sad
  • Georgian: დარდიანი (dardiani) — not happy; sad
  • Georgian: ნაღვლიანი (naɣvliani) — not happy; sad
  • German: unglücklich — not happy; sad
  • Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍃 (wainahs) — not happy; sad
  • Ancient Greek: μέλεος (méleos) — not happy; sad
  • Ancient Greek: δύστηνος (dústēnos) — not happy; sad
  • Haitian Creole: malere — not happy; sad
  • Italian: triste — not happy; sad
  • Italian: rattristato — not happy; sad
  • Italian: mogio — not happy; sad
  • Italian: abbacchiato — not happy; sad
  • Italian: afflitto — not happy; sad
  • Italian: avvilito — not happy; sad
  • Italian: malinconico — not happy; sad
  • Italian: mesto — not happy; sad
  • Italian: infelice — not happy; sad
  • Italian: egro — not happy; sad
  • Latin: tristis — not happy; sad
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ulykkelig — not happy; sad
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ulukkeleg — not happy; sad
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ulykkeleg — not happy; sad
  • Old English: wansǣliġ — not happy; sad
  • Pashto: غمجن (ğamjan) — not happy; sad
  • Pashto: خپه (xapa) — not happy; sad
  • Pashto: خواشينی (xwâšinay) — not happy; sad
  • Portuguese: infeliz — not happy; sad
  • Portuguese: triste — not happy; sad
  • Romanian: nefericit — not happy; sad
  • Russian: несча́стный (nesčástnyj) — not happy; sad
  • Russian: несчастли́вый (nesčastlívyj) — not happy; sad
  • Russian: гру́стный (grústnyj) — not happy; sad
  • Russian: печа́льный (pečálʹnyj) — not happy; sad
  • Serbo-Croatian: несретан — not happy; sad
  • Serbo-Croatian: nesretan — not happy; sad
  • Slovak: nešťastný — not happy; sad
  • Spanish: infeliz — not happy; sad
  • Swedish: olycklig — not happy; sad
  • Turkish: mutsuz — not happy; sad
  • Turkish: üzgün — not happy; sad
  • Armenian: դժգոհ (džgoh) — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Bulgarian: неудовлетворён — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不滿意 /不满意 (bù mǎnyì) — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Danish: utilfreds — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Finnish: tyytymätön — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • French: mécontent — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Georgian: უკმაყოფილო (uḳmaq̇opilo) — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Italian: scontento — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Italian: amareggiato — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Italian: sconfortato — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Italian: depresso — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Italian: demoralizzato — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Pashto: خپه (xapa) — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Romanian: nefericit — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Russian: недово́льный (nedovólʹnyj) — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Russian: неудовлетворённый (neudovletvorjónnyj) — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Slovak: nespokojný — not satisfied; unsatisfied
  • Armenian: դժբախտ (džbaxt) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Bulgarian: неудачен (neudačen) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不幸運 /不幸运 (bù xìngyùn) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Chinese Mandarin: 倒霉 (dǎoméi) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Danish: uheldig — not lucky; unlucky
  • Finnish: epäonninen — not lucky; unlucky
  • Georgian: უიღბლო (uiɣblo) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Georgian: უბედო (ubedo) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Georgian: უხეირო (uxeiro) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Georgian: უბედური (ubeduri) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Italian: sfortunato — not lucky; unlucky
  • Italian: sfigato — not lucky; unlucky
  • Italian: iellato — not lucky; unlucky
  • Russian: неуда́чный (neudáčnyj) — not lucky; unlucky
  • Slovak: nešťastný — not lucky; unlucky
  • Bulgarian: неподходя́щ (nepodhodjášt) — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不適宜 /不适宜 (bù shìyí) — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不適合 /不适合 (bù shìhé) — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不適當 /不适当 (bù shìdàng) — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Danish: upassende — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Finnish: sopimaton — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Georgian: შეუფერებელი (šeuperebeli) — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Italian: inadatto — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Italian: infelice — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Russian: неподходя́щий (nepodxodjáščij) — not suitable; unsuitable
  • Slovak: nešťastný — not suitable; unsuitable