adj. sadder, saddest

[Middle English, weary, sorrowful, from Old English sæd, sated, weary; see sā- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: sad, melancholy, sorrowful, doleful, woebegone, desolate
These adjectives mean affected with or marked by unhappiness, as that caused by affliction. Sad is the most general:"Better by far you should forget and smile / Than that you should remember and be sad" (Christina Rossetti).
Melancholy can refer to lingering or habitual somberness or sadness: a melancholy poet's gloomy introspection.Sorrowful applies to emotional pain as that resulting from loss: sorrowful mourners at the funeral. Doleful describeswhat is mournful or morose: the doleful expression of a reprimanded child. Woebegone suggests grief orwretchedness, especially as reflected in a person's appearance: "His sorrow ... made him look ... haggard and ...woebegone" (George du Maurier).
Desolate applies to one that is beyond consolation: "Now she was desolate, a widow in a foreign country" (NigelHamilton).