alas means used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment. It carries an Arena rating of 1548, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, alas ranks #522 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,629 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,608 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,118 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
alas is pronounced /əˈlæs/.
Why “alas” is a great word
An interjection expressing sorrow, regret, grief, resignation, or disappointment. From Middle English *alas*, from Old French *a las* (modern French *hélas*), from *a* ("ah") + *las* ("weary, wretched"), the latter from Latin *lassus* ("weary"). Unlike "oh," a general exclamation of surprise, or "unfortunately," a dry adverbial statement, *alas* is the immediate, embodied cry of the heart against an unwelcome fact. It is the knight's whisper over a fallen comrade, the scholar's sigh at a burned manuscript, the quiet closing of a book whose last page offers no comfort—a one-word monument to the weary acceptance of what cannot be changed.
Etymology
From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas.
intj
- Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment.e.g.“I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead.”
noun
- A type of geological depression which occurs in Yakutia, formed by the subsidence of permafrost.e.g.“Alternative forms: alass, alaas”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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