—used to express unhappiness, pity, or concern
Life, alas, is too short.
Examples of alas in a Sentence
Interjection
Juliet's pitiful lament, “alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead!”.
Recent Examples on the Web
Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Or that putting some measures in place to combat bias and nepotism (which is what good diversity and inclusion interventions do, but alas most don’t) is, like any attempt to change the status quo, an assault on meritocracy.
—Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
If the shorts themselves aren’t always memorable, the issues, alas, will remain.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2025
Brave New World, alas, is not a movie anybody would aspire to make, at least in its current condition.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alas
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Interjection
On that question, alas, my fears turned out to be right.
—Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Or that putting some measures in place to combat bias and nepotism (which is what good diversity and inclusion interventions do, but alas most don’t) is, like any attempt to change the status quo, an assault on meritocracy.
—Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
If the shorts themselves aren’t always memorable, the issues, alas, will remain.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2025
Brave New World, alas, is not a movie anybody would aspire to make, at least in its current condition.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for alas
Cite this Entry
“Alas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alas. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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alas
interjection
—used to express unhappiness, pity, or concern
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