Synonyms of unhappy

unhappy

adjective

ˌən-ˈha-pē 

1

as in sad

feeling unhappiness

he's been unhappy ever since his family's move, which took him away from all his friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sad
• depressed
• miserable
• heartbroken
• bad
• upset
• sorry
• worried
• melancholy
• disappointed
• uneasy
• troubled
• sorrowful
• hopeless
• dejected
• mournful
• gloomy
• joyless
• disconsolate
• despondent
• inconsolable
• glum
• heartsick
• saddened
• crestfallen
• wretched
• downcast
• doleful
• woebegone
• distressed
• forlorn
• woeful
• melancholic
• brokenhearted
• suicidal
• blue
• droopy
• depressing
• discouraged
• downhearted
• low-spirited
• hangdog
• down
• heavyhearted
• down in the mouth
• aggrieved
• low
• despairing
• heartsore
• tearful
• cast down
• dispirited
• grieving
• sunk
• disheartened
• regretful
• unquiet
• bleak
• weeping
• anguished
• somber
• desolate
• morbid
• lugubrious
• agonized
• cheerless
• sullen
• plaintive
• morose
• dolorous
• dismal
• lachrymose
• wailing
• rueful
• dark
• dreary
• gray
• comfortless
• black
• saturnine
• murky
• darkening
• elegiac
• drear
• funereal

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• happy
• glad
• joyful
• joyous
• cheerful
• delighted
• jubilant
• ecstatic
• blissful
• cheery
• gleeful
• upbeat
• buoyant
• exuberant
• sunny
• merry
• buoyed
• euphoric
• exultant
• excited
• rapturous
• jolly
• optimistic
• enraptured
• jovial
• chipper
• hopeful
• rhapsodic
• mirthful
• jocular
• rosy
• blithe
• overjoyed
• elated
• jocose
• exhilarated
• sanguine
• satisfied
• gladdened
• energetic
• spirited
• vital
• gladsome
• encouraged
• smiling
• content
• jocund
• pleased
• lively
• entranced
• vivacious
• frisky
• perky
• thrilled
• laughing
• blithesome
• animated
• bouncing
• gratified
• sprightly
• careless
• unconcerned
• peppy
• lightsome
• springy
• jaunty
• carefree
• zippy
• grinning
• easygoing
• lighthearted
• heartened
• cavalier
• boon
• insouciant
• sprightful
• beaming
• happy-go-lucky
• devil-may-care

2

as in unfortunate

having, prone to, or marked by bad luck

she's trying to forget that whole unhappy attempt to start a business

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unfortunate
• disastrous
• unfavorable
• unlucky
• hapless
• luckless
• catastrophic
• doomed
• adverse
• hard-luck
• tragic
• ill-fated
• ill-starred
• jinxed
• damned
• star-crossed
• inauspicious
• snakebit
• unpromising
• ill
• calamitous
• accursed
• untoward

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• happy
• fortunate
• lucky
• privileged
• favorable
• favored
• gifted
• fair
• promising
• golden
• blessed
• propitious
• auspicious

3

as in unsuitable

not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation

a guest unintentionally made unhappy reference to what is a painful situation for the family

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unsuitable
• inappropriate
• wrong
• incorrect
• improper
• unfit
• unfortunate
• irrelevant
• unseemly
• incongruous
• unacceptable
• bad
• infelicitous
• inept
• inconsistent
• out of place
• out of the way
• indecorous
• unbecoming
• perverse
• amiss
• inapt
• awkward
• graceless
• untoward
• unapt
• inapposite
• naughty
• malapropos
• untimely
• inapplicable
• inopportune
• uncongenial
• unsatisfactory
• immaterial
• incompatible
• sinful
• forbidden
• unseasonable
• mismatched
• extraneous
• prohibited
• blameworthy
• blamable
• irrelative
• barred
• censurable
• ungraceful
• disallowed
• proscribed
• outlawed
• gauche
• banned
• misbecoming
• interdicted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• happy
• appropriate
• suitable
• correct
• right
• meet
• proper
• becoming
• fortunate
• relative
• fitting
• relevant
• fit
• applicable
• timely
• apt
• felicitous
• genteel
• opportune
• decorous
• pointed
• congenial
• permitted
• harmonious
• compatible
• material
• pat
• seasonable
• satisfactory
• authorized
• seemly
• apposite
• acceptable
• adequate
• befitting
• endorsed
• approved
• promoted
• licensed
• fine
• supported
• allowed
• all right
• decent
• OK
• encouraged
• tolerable
• respectable
• sanctioned
• kosher
• germane
• apropos
• creditable
• commendable
• passable
• exemplary
• blameless
• balanced
• irreproachable
• consonant
• abetted
• companionate
• congruous

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of unhappy

These numbers complicate the picture of a state workforce unhappy with a new policy that some workers say disrupts their daily lives and question if returning to the office could bring health risks, longer commutes, lost time and higher gas costs. — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Premiering in 2004 on Fox, The Swan cast women who self-reported as unhappy about their appearances in a grueling competition to see who could pull off the most profound physical transformation. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2026

In fact, many are still unhappy that MLB required Netflix subscriptions for Opening Night and the Home Run Derby. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026

Democratic opponents also were unhappy with the lack of clarity about future collective bargaining. — New York Times, 29 Sep. 2026