Sadness \Sad"ness\, n.

1. Heaviness; firmness. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

2. Seriousness; gravity; discretion. [Obs.]

[1913 Webster]

Her sadness and her benignity. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

3. Quality of being sad, or unhappy; gloominess; sorrowfulness; dejection. [1913 Webster]

Dim sadness did not spare That time celestial visages. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Sorrow; heaviness; dejection. See Grief. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

111 Moby Thesaurus words for "sadness": aching heart, agony, agony of mind, anguish, bale, beggarliness, bitterness, blackishness, bleakness, bleeding heart, blue devils, blues, broken heart, cheapness, cheerlessness, comfortlessness, contemptibleness, crumminess, crushing, darkishness, darkness, darksomeness, dejectedness, dejection, depression, depth of misery, desolation, despair, despicableness, despondency, dinge, discomfort, disconsolateness, disconsolation, dismalness, dispiritedness, distress, distressfulness, doldrums, dolor, downcastness, downheartedness, downs, dreariness, dumps, duskiness, duskness, extremity, forlornness, funereality, funk, gaudiness, gloom, gloominess, graveness, grief, grievousness, heartache, heavy heart, heavyheartedness, hopelessness, infelicity, joylessness, lamentability, lamentation, listlessness, meanness, megrims, melancholia, melancholy, meretriciousness, meritlessness, miserableness, misery, moodiness, mopes, mournfulness, mourning, pain, painfulness, paltriness, pathos, pitiability, pitiableness, pitifulness, poignancy, poorness, prostration, regrettableness, shabbiness, sharpness, shoddiness, soberness, sobriety, somberness, sorriness, sorrow, sorrowfulness, suds, suicidal despair, swarth, swarthiness, swartness, unhappiness, unworthiness, vileness, woe, woebegoneness, woefulness, worthlessness, wretchedness

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

sadness

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Sadness \Sad"ness\, n.

1. Heaviness; firmness. [Obs.]

2. Seriousness; gravity; discretion. [Obs.]

Her sadness and her benignity. --Chaucer.

3. Quality of being sad, or unhappy; gloominess; sorrowfulness; dejection.

Dim sadness did not spare That time celestial visages. --Milton.

Syn: Sorrow; heaviness; dejection. See Grief.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)