Soothing thing to say, sadly (5)
I believe the answer is:
sorry
'soothing' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sorry that I've seen before include "Contrite" , "pathetic!" , "Penitent; regrettable" , "Feeling regret" , "Feeling penitence" .)