I'm looking for a word that means feeling both happy and sad at the same time. Here's a sentence I'd like to use it in:
"At least we got one vote," she said with a (word I'm looking for) smile.
-
I can't answer here, but I think the answer is wistful. "having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing. "a wistful smile"". If you upvote my comment I can answer hahauser3494047– user34940472022-12-08 12:05:04 +00:00Commented Dec 8, 2022 at 12:05
Add a comment
|
6 Answers
- producing or expressing a mixture of pain and pleasure: a movie with a bittersweet ending.
- pleasant but tinged with sadness.
- a bittersweet smile.
(TFD)
-
it doesn't fit to the OP's example though, does it?Nick The Dick– Nick The Dick2020-03-22 20:14:08 +00:00Commented Mar 22, 2020 at 20:14
While somewhat broader than happy/sad, you could say ambivalent.
Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone:
Some loved her, some hated her, few were ambivalent about her.
The dictionary on my Mac defines rueful as
expressing sorrow or regret, especially in a wry or humorous way: she gave a rueful grin
which fits OP's sentence quite well.
Melancholic! Bittersweet more exact.
Not exactly what the OP's looking for but tragicomic also describes both happy and sad feelings at the same time.
Tragicomic (adj): Something that is tragicomic is both sad and amusing at the same time.
Example: This was a tragicomic story of human frailty.
Or ambivalent.
Ambivalent (adj): Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Example: an ambivalent attitude to Europe.
— Lexico
"At least we got one vote," she said with a wan smile.
You could also use feeble.
