sadness

/ˈsædnəs/

//ˈsædnəs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sadness" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sadness” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,602. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,602
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state or emotion of being sad.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sadness · sadness · English

sadness · rank #8,602 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,602
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH robbed

Nearest frequency peer: robbed (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sadness”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sadness” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sadness vs shyness
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sadness
PropertyValue
Headwordsadness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsædnəs/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,602
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sadness”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).sadnesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “robbed” (#8,601), “scenarios” (#8,603), “selective” (#8,604). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sadness” is #8,602. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sadness (IPA /ˈsædnəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,602 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sadness, with forms such as "asdness", "saddness", and "sadenss". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "shyness", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sadnesse, equivalent to sad + -ness. The correct English form is sadness, spelled S-A-D-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state or emotion of being sad.
  2. 2
    An event in one's life that causes sadness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sadness appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. But sorrow that is couch'd in seeming gladness Is like that mirth fate turns to sudden sadness.
  2. I mean not then under the name of Sadneſs to defend effeminate Bewailings and Lamentations; let them that ſubject themſelves to this weakeſt Impatience, be alſo ſubject to the Lycian Law, that bound theſe kind of Lamenters to be array'd like Women: […]

Etymology

From Middle English sadnesse, equivalent to sad + -ness.

Synonyms

bluenesstristessemirthlessbluescrestfallennessdejectiondepressiondespondencydistressdolefulnessdownheartednessdreariheadforlornnessgriefheartsoreill-beinginfelicitymelancholiamelancholymiserymishappinessmournprosternationregretrueruthsadnesssorrowsorrowfulnesstristfulnessundelightunhappinesswoewoefarewretchedness

Antonyms

happiness

This word in other languages

tristeza(Español)tristesse(Français)Traurigkeit(Deutsch)tristeza(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asdness
  • saddness
  • sadenss
  • sadnes
  • sadnness
  • sadnses
  • sandess
  • sdaness
  • ssadness

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sadness - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

asdness2saddness1sadenss2sadnes1sadnness1sadnses2sandess2sdaness2
Edit distance from "sadness"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sadness"?
"sadness" is spelled S-A-D-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsædnəs/.
What does "sadness" mean?
As a noun, "sadness" means: The state or emotion of being sad.
What words are commonly confused with "sadness"?
"sadness" is commonly confused with "shyness". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sadness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sadness" is /ˈsædnəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sadness"?
From Middle English sadnesse, equivalent to sad + -ness. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sadness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sucking#8,614terrace#8,617villain#8,624militia#8,578

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

rented9 variantsranger9 variantsverify9 variantsnaming9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list