unfortunately

adverb

Used (as a parenthetical word, often a sentence adverb) to express disappointment, compassion, sorrow, regret, or grief.

Happening through bad luck, or because of some unfortunate event.

Roots

unun- · Old English · not, reverse fortuna-fortun · Latin · luck, fortune

Synonyms for unfortunately

unluckilyadv sadlyadv unhappilyadv inconvenientlyadv

Synonyms & related words for unfortunately

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of unfortunately — including unluckily, sadly, unhappily, inconveniently. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to unfortunately

Explore words related to unfortunately — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include regrettably, alas, fortunately, luckily, regretfully, thankfully, however, although. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for unfortunately

Common synonyms for unfortunately include unluckily, sadly, unhappily, inconveniently — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does unfortunately come from?

The word unfortunately breaks down into 2 roots of Old English and Latin origin: un-, from Old English un (“not, reverse”); and -fortun, from Latin fortuna (“luck, fortune”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.