as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
ruefully accepted the fact that the drunk driver would never adequately pay for his crime
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Recent Examples of ruefully
Watch Swift ruefully recount how Sheeran found out about her engagement above.
—
Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
Annoyingly, the line was all McNamara, D'Arcy points out ruefully.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Jon Stewart, ever the happy employee in his running joke of begrudgingly working Monday nights at The Daily Show, ruefully acknowledged being back at his post after being on vacation for over a month.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
At some point Crockett looks at me ruefully and apologizes for being such a downer.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2025
Xavier shakes his head, ruefully.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Black and Richardson had shared books and talk—and, as Black ruefully admitted, cocaine—in the back room at Elaine’s.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
Annoyingly, the line was all McNamara, D'Arcy points out ruefully.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Jon Stewart, ever the happy employee in his running joke of begrudgingly working Monday nights at The Daily Show, ruefully acknowledged being back at his post after being on vacation for over a month.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
At some point Crockett looks at me ruefully and apologizes for being such a downer.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2025
Xavier shakes his head, ruefully.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Black and Richardson had shared books and talk—and, as Black ruefully admitted, cocaine—in the back room at Elaine’s.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruefully
Adverb
-
Taylor makes a persuasive case for how artists can grow, if incrementally and maybe bitterly, amid so much numbing digital noise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Fede knows the truth, but Roberto doesn’t, and Fede has held that over Antonio ever since, with Antonio bitterly blaming himself for his wife’s death.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
12 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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That’s because, sadly, many bat populations have declined in recent years due to factors including habitat loss, wind turbines, and white nose syndrome (WNS), a devastating fungal disease which disrupts their natural hibernation cycles.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
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But, sadly for us, relationships are a bit messier than probability would have it.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Eastwood and Fitzgerald are barely in the movie long enough to register, Williams’ 30-something mom lacks any actual spirit, and Franco’s painfully earnest single dad can’t decide whether to keep his glasses on and off.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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Every New York Yankees fan is painfully aware of the rough season starting shortstop Anthony Volpe had in Year 3 as a big-leaguer.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruefully. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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