unfortunately
adverb
Simple meaning
Used to express disappointment, compassion, sorrow, regret.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhnfawrchuhnuhtleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ənˈfɔɹtʃənətli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
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.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Used (as a parenthetical word, often a sentence adverb) to express disappointment, compassion, sorrow, regret, or grief.
Used this way, unfortunately is a reasonably familiar word carrying real weight of difficulty or hurt. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It turns up most in personal or emotional discussion and literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Strongly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Strongly negative / painful
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Unfortunately is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use unfortunately
- “Unfortunately it rained all day.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Not favored by fortune.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: used (as a parenthetical word
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