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/əˈlæs/ · interjection
Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment..
I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead.
Helas I lamente the dull abuſyd brayne The enfatuate fantaſies the wytles wylfulnes Of on and hothyr at me that haue dyſdayne
Alas poore Yorick, I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite Ieſt; of moſt excellent fancy, he hath borne me on his backe a thouſand times: And how abhorred my Imagination is, my gorge riſes at it.
Standing afarre off for the feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that mighty citie: for in one houre is thy iudgement come.
The thorough and shameless commercialism of Sex has alas! been reserved for what is called "Christian civilization," and with it (perhaps as a necessary consequence) Prostitution and Syphilis have grown into appalling evils, accompanied by a gigantic degradation of social standards, and upgrowth of petty Philistinism and niaiserie.
Alternative forms: alass, alaas
Use alas when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Alas means Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment..
Common synonyms include alack, oh well, regrettably, unfortunately.
Possible antonyms include fortuitously, fortunately, as luck would have it, luckily.
I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead.
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