alas
/əˈlæs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.67 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
intj
Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment.
noun
A type of geological depression formed by the subsidence of permafrost, sometimes (partially) filled by a lake.
Example Sentences
- "I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead."
- "Helas I lamente the dull abuſyd brayne The enfatuate fantaſies the wytles wylfulnes Of on and hothyr at me that haue dyſdayne"
- "Alas poore Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite Ieſt; of moſt excellent fancy, he hath borne me on his backe a thouſand times: And how abhorred my Imagination is, my gorge riſes at it."
- "Standing afarre off for the feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that mighty citie: for in one houre is thy iudgement come."
- "The thorough and shameless commercialism of Sex has alas! been reserved for what is called "Christian civilization," and with it (perhaps as a necessary consequence) Prostitution and Syphilis have grown into appalling evils, accompanied by a gigantic degradation of social standards, and upgrowth of petty Philistinism and niaiserie."
- "Alternative forms: alass, alaas"
Etymology
From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈlæs/
- British English: /əˈlæs/