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 post quickly gained attention as people shared a variety of responses, from regretful admissions to justifications. —Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025

Just practice the regretful smile that should accompany the refusal. —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2025

The story line is primarily a way to explore Annie’s insecurities, with Hughie made to feel guilty and regretful about his dalliance with the doppelgänger instead of ever getting to process his own reaction to the revelation. —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025

Neither damning nor satiric, W. is oddly wistful, almost regretful — rare sentiments in a Stone film. —Will Leitch, Vulture, 17 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for regretful

• forgetful
• fretful