Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

unhappily

/ʌnˈhæpɪli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.56 in modern English

Syllables: un-hap-pi-ly
IPA: /ʌnˈhæpɪli/

19

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

Unfortunately; regrettably.

adv

Through evil fate or chance; wretchedly.

adv

Without happiness; sadly.

Example Sentences

"The annals of savagery and superstition unhappily compose a large part of human literature."
"The line to Dunières consists of a series of breakneck descents almost invariably ended by a violent curve and followed immediately by a panting climb, on which the engine barked thunderously but failed unhappily to maintain its booked speed of 13 m.p.h."
"Theodore Roosevelt […] added, perhaps unhappily, that he believed the US administration in the Philippines could learn a lot from the Austrian example."

Etymology

From Middle English onhappily, unhappili, unhappily, unhappyly; equivalent to un- + happily or unhappy + -ly.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: onhappily

Inflected Forms

more unhappily (comparative) most unhappily (superlative)

Synonyms

sadly

Antonyms

happily

Rhymes With

happily napoli snappily crappily scrappily sappily

Questions

How do you pronounce unhappily?: The recorded pronunciation is /ʌnˈhæpɪli/.
What does unhappily mean?: Unfortunately; regrettably.
Where does unhappily come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce unhappily

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “unhappily”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ʌnˈhæpɪli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “unhappily”.
Repeat and practice — Say “unhappily” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.