Feeling sad is a universal emotion, and there are many expressions in English that capture this feeling. Learning these idioms and phrasal verbs can help you express sadness more accurately and understand others better. Here are 20 expressions related to sadness, each with a brief meaning and an example sentence.
1. Down in the dumps
Meaning: Feeling very sad
Example: She’s been down in the dumps lately.
2. Feeling blue
Meaning: Feeling sad or depressed
Example: I’ve been feeling blue all week.
3. Heartbroken
Meaning: Deeply saddened
Example: He was heartbroken after the breakup.
4. Tear up
Meaning: Start to cry
Example: She teared up during the sad movie.
5. Break down
Meaning: Start crying uncontrollably
Example: He broke down after hearing the news.
6. Choked up
Meaning: Struggle to speak due to sadness
Example: She got choked up at the funeral.
7. Cast down
Meaning: Feel discouraged
Example: He was cast down by the failure.
8. Heavy-hearted
Meaning: Feeling deeply sad
Example: She felt heavy-hearted after the loss.
9. Cry one’s eyes out
Meaning: Cry intensely
Example: She cried her eyes out after the movie.
10. In low spirits
Meaning: Feeling sad
Example: He’s been in low spirits all day.
11. Lump in the throat
Meaning: Feeling emotional and about to cry
Example: I got a lump in my throat hearing the story.
12. Have the blues
Meaning: Feeling sad or depressed
Example: He’s got the blues this morning.
13. Downhearted
Meaning: Feeling very sad
Example: She felt downhearted after the bad news.
14. Cry over spilled milk
Meaning: Regret something that cannot be changed
Example: No use crying over spilled milk now.
15. Feel low
Meaning: Feeling sad
Example: I’ve been feeling low all day.
16. Broken-hearted
Meaning: Deeply sad
Example: She was broken-hearted after he left.
17. Shed tears
Meaning: Cry
Example: He shed tears at the funeral.
18. Let down
Meaning: Feel disappointed
Example: She felt let down by her friends.
19. Gutted
Meaning: Extremely disappointed
Example: He was gutted when he failed the test.
20. Feel miserable
Meaning: Feeling very sad
Example: She’s been feeling miserable since the accident.
