unhappily
/ʌnˈhæpɪli/adverb
unhappily is spelled U-N-H-A-P-P-I-L-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, unhappily means “Unfortunately; regrettably” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unhappily?
| Letters | 9: U-N-H-A-P-P-I-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 49,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unhappily?
Unhappily appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unhappily?
- /ʌnˈhæpɪli/
Unhappily has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-unhappily.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unhappily
- more unhappily comparative
- most unhappily superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unhappily mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Unfortunately; regrettably.
- 2
Through evil fate or chance; wretchedly.
- 3
Without happiness; sadly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does unhappily come from?
From Middle English onhappily, unhappili, unhappily, unhappyly; equivalent to un- + happily or unhappy + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).