Dictionary

sadden en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈsædən/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English saddenen, equivalent to sad + -en.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make sad or unhappy.
   • It saddens me to think that I might have hurt someone.
   • The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
   • I was saddened that you felt so little for me.
2. (intransitive, rare) To become sad or unhappy.
   • Hyacinth perfume tickled her senses, making her feel giddy, but she saddened when she saw how uncared for the garden was. 1999, Mary Ann Mitchell, Drawn To The Grave:
   • He saddens, all the magic light ⁠Dies off at once from bower and hall, ⁠And all the place is dark, and all The chambers emptied of delight: […] 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto VIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
3. (rare, transitive) To darken a color during dyeing.
   • Curve (E) is seen at a glance to represent green saddened down to its fifth shade, and reduced with white to its fourth tint. 1903, Society of Dyers and Colourists, Bradford, Eng. (Yorkshire), The Journal, page 129:
4. (transitive) To render heavy, hard, or cohesive; to compress or thicken.
   • […]; the reason why hee left them in the close all the day was, because that hee woulde have the water sattle away, and the growndesomewhat saddened before hee woulde goe to field with them;[…] 1857, Henry Best, Rural Economy in Yorkshire in 1641: Being the Farming and Account Books of Henry Best, of Elmswell, in the East Riding of the County of York, page 77:
   • ... the soil below will, instead of being brought up, be trampled and saddened. 1808, Thomas Batchelor, General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bedford. Drawn Up by Order of the Board of Agriculture, and Internal Improvement. By Thomas Batchelor, Farmer, page 342:
   • Marle's binding and sadning of land being the great Prejudice it doth to Clay-lands. 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:

Forms

Antonyms

gladden

Coordinates

frighten · enrage · annoy · vex

Deriveds

sadden up · unsadden · saddener

Hyponyms

reduce someone to tears · pity · discourage · daunt · dissuade · deter · despair · disappoint · move someone to tears · dishearten

Relateds

be sad · rattristare · lamentable · lament

Synonyms

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

Translations (63)

ka დასევდიანება (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · fi tulla surulliseksi (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · ro întrista (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · de sich betrüben (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · gl magoar (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · es apenar (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · eo ĉagreni (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · id memilukan (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · es entristecer (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · ru опеча́лить (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · he העציב (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · mi whakapāhi (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · oc entristesir (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · fi apeutua (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · es contristar (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · ka დამწუხრება (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · io chagrenigar (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · it rattristarsi (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · mi whakakiwakiwa (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · de traurig werden (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · ko 슬퍼지다 (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · de betrüben (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · ca entristir (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · mi whakapāhi (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · mi whakahinapōuri (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · it intristire (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · eu goibeldu (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · ro mâhni (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · bg натъжавам (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · ca entristir-se (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · pl zasmucić (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · bg опечалявам (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · ru опеча́ливать (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · tr üzülmek (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · om gaddisiisuu (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · bg опечалявам се (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · mi whakaaroha (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · pl zasmucać (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · pt entristecer (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · ru печа́лить (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · it rattristare (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · am አሳዘነ (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · acw حَزَّن (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · pt entristecer (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · ka დაღონება (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · gl entristecer (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · el λυπώ (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · bg натъжавам се (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · pl smucić (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · fr attrister (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · it rattristire (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · az kədərləndirmək (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · acw زَعَّل (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · fi masentua (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · ko 슬프게 하다 (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · it intristire (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · eu goibeldu (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · fi masentaa (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · fi tehdä surulliseksi (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · az kədərlənmək (intransitive: become sad or unhappy) · ar أَحْزَنَ (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · tr üzmek (transitive: make sad or unhappy) · hu elszomorít (transitive: make sad or unhappy)