regretful

adjective

re·​gret·​ful ri-ˈgret-fəl 

: full of regret : feeling or expressing regret

feeling regretful

a regretful sigh/look

… and all that the three-year difference does is make us laugh and make us regretful about our own adolescences.

—Stanley Kauffmann

regretfulness noun

Even more than 40 years after Jones' death, Richards refuses to indulge in any false sentimentality or regretfulness.

—Greg Kot

Synonyms

• aching
• agonized
• anguished
• bemoaning
• bewailing
• bitter
• deploring
• doleful
• dolesome
• dolorous
• funeral
• grieving
• heartbroken
• lamentable
• lugubrious
• mournful
• plaintive
• plangent
• rueful
• sorrowful
• sorry
• wailing
• weeping
• woeful

Examples of regretful in a Sentence

gave me a regretful look when I told him we had to move my mother to a nursing home

was truly regretful that she had yelled at him

Recent Examples on the Web

The r/Anxiety subreddit is filled with folks who report feeling panicky, empty, regretful, or guilty as day transitions to night. —Lauren Mazzo, SELF, 16 Oct. 2024

The irony is that songwriter Ezra Koenig and his buddies can’t relinquish memories, which inform, on the transportive B-side, the most somber, regretful music of their career. —Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024

Danny White, whose football team is currently ranked No. 5, appears less regretful. —Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2024

No more bunnies at Petco Petco will stop selling pet rabbits following criticism that the practice led to regretful owners, overwhelmed by bunny-care, Jonathan Limehouse reports. —Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above