Assignment 2: Dictionary Exercise

There are two sentences:

She is upset.

She is sad.

We know, those two sentences are meaning that she is unhappy, but do ''upset'' and ''sad'' have same explanation?

First, I used Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary to look for those two words.

upset (WORRY)

1 verb upsetting, upset, upset to make someone worried, unhappy or angry:
It still upsets him when he thinks about the accident
Don't upset yourself by thinking about what might have been.upset

2 adjective [after verb]

Don't get upset about the dress - there's only a little stain on it.

[+ to infinitive] She was very upset to hear that the holiday had been cancelled.
[+ that] He was very upset that you didn't reply to his letters.

sad (NOT HAPPY)

1 unhappy or sorry:

I've just received some very sad news.

She gave a rather sad smile.

[+ (that)] It's sad (that) the trip had to be cancelled.

I'm so sad (that) you can't come.

[+ to infinitive] It's sad to see so many failures this year.

I was sad to hear that they'd split up.

2 HUMOROUS If something looks sad, it looks worse than it should because it is not being cared for:

Give those flowers some water - they're looking a bit sad.

Second, how about Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary explained those two words.

upset
• verb /1 make unhappy, disappointed, or worried. 2 knock over. 3 disrupt or disturb.
• noun /1 a state of being upset. 2 an unexpected result or situation.
• adjective/ 1 unhappy, disappointed, or worried. 2 (of a person’s stomach) having disturbed digestion.

sad
• adjective/ 1 feeling sorrow; unhappy. 2 causing or characterized by sorrow or regret. 3 informal pathetically inadequate or unfashionable.

Third, I used Merriam-Webster's Learners' Dictionary to search for those two words.

upset
Function:adjective
Meaning:
1 : angry or unhappy

▪ I was feeling upset by/about the whole experience.

▪ There's no point in getting all upset about it.

▪ I try not to let her make me upset.

▪ She was too upset to speak to him.

▪ I'm upset that you didn't call.

▪ I was so upset with him, I didn't call him for two weeks.

2 ◊If you have an upset stomach, you have an unpleasant feeling in your stomach because of illness or because of something you have eaten.

▪ I had an upset stomach after eating all those cookies.

▪ My stomach was upset and I felt like I might throw up.

sad
Function:adjective
Meaning:
1 : not happy : feeling or showing grief or unhappiness

▪ He's feeling sad because his pet died.

▪ People were sad that he was leaving.

▪ The experience left her sadder but wiser.

▪ big sad eyes

2 : causing a feeling of grief or unhappiness

▪ Have you heard the sad news about his wife's illness?

▪ It'll be a sad day when you leave us.

▪ a sad love song
▪ a sad poem

▪ a movie with a sad ending

▪ He lived a sad life.

3 : causing feelings of disappointment or pity

▪ The sad fact/truth of the matter is that they are right.

▪ I live a pretty sad [=pathetic] life. I never go out on the weekend.

▪ The government is in sad [=bad] shape.

▪ The new version is a sad imitation of the original movie.

▪ He's a sad excuse for a father. [=he's not a good father]

▪ a sad-looking birthday cake ▪ We needed more money but, sad to say, there wasn't any.

▪ Sad but true, we couldn't afford to go away for even a weekend at the beach.

According to the three learners' dictionary, we could know the difference between upset and sad:

1. "upset" is meaning unhappy, worry or angry. It also has another explain: you feel bad in your stomach.

2. "sad" is meaning unhappy, sorry or feel sorrow.

In conclusion, if you want to search for more explain or example, you can use Merriam-Webster's. If you don't want to get too many superfluous explain, Cambridge Advanced can give you clear explain.