verb · neutral
sadden
/ˈsædn/SAD·den
Band 6-7speakingtask2
to make someone feel sad
Examples
“It saddens me to hear that the town library will close.”
“The news of the accident saddened the whole community.”
“She was deeply saddened by the poor exam results.”
Band 8 sentence
“It saddens me to see traditional trades disappear, because they carry knowledge and identity that cannot be replaced by convenience alone.”
Collocations
- be saddened by
- sadden someone
Word family
sadden verbsaddened adjective / past participlesaddening adjectivesadness noun
Common mistakes
The news was sad me.→The news saddened me.
He was sadden by the result.→He was saddened by the result.
Say it for a higher band
5be sad→6feel sad→7+sadden
Synonyms
upset
depress
Easily confused
sad
“I felt sad when I heard the news.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -en
Learn it with its set