sadden
Cast gloom upon
To sadden is to make sad or become sad: The news saddened her.
It works both transitively and intransitively, though the transitive use dominates: It saddens me to see the old house torn down.
The word carries a gentler weight than devastate or crush—appropriate for disappointment or melancholy rather than grief.
Total absence of hope
- hopelessnessState without hope
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- miseryIntense prolonged distress
desolation · grief · heartache · woe · bereavement · mourning · lamentation · devastate
Pervasive dimness or dejection
- heavyheartedDeeply sad or dejected
- downcastSad or despondent
- crestfallenSad from disappointment
- despondentDeeply discouraged, hopeless
forlorn · morose · doleful · lugubrious · woeful · disconsolate · sorrowful · tearful
Diminish someone's confidence
- dispiritCause to lose hope
- demoralizeDestroy confidence or resolve
- dampenWet slightly or diminish
- deflateRelease air from
disappoint · dismay · daunt · disillusion · disenchant · undermine · shake · demotivate
Sadly longing for something
- nostalgicLonging for the past
- pensiveQuietly, sadly thoughtful
- reflectiveCasting back light
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
bittersweet · longing · plaintive · elegiac · somber · blue · mournful · sentimental
despair
Total absence of hope
- hopelessnessState without hope
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
misery · desolation · grief · heartache · woe · bereavement · mourning · lamentation · devastate · shatter
gloom
Pervasive dimness or dejection
- heavyheartedDeeply sad or dejected
- downcastSad or despondent
- crestfallenSad from disappointment
despondent · forlorn · morose · doleful · lugubrious · woeful · disconsolate · sorrowful · tearful · weepy
discourage
Diminish someone's confidence
- dispiritCause to lose hope
- demoralizeDestroy confidence or resolve
- dampenWet slightly or diminish
deflate · disappoint · dismay · daunt · disillusion · disenchant · undermine · shake · demotivate · crush
wistful
Sadly longing for something
- nostalgicLonging for the past
- pensiveQuietly, sadly thoughtful
- reflectiveCasting back light
yearning · bittersweet · longing · plaintive · elegiac · somber · blue · mournful · sentimental · rueful