regretted; regretting
1
a
: to mourn the loss or death of
b
: to miss very much
2
: to be very sorry for
regrets his mistakes
: to experience regret
regretter
noun
1
: sorrow aroused by circumstances beyond one's control or power to repair
2
a
: an expression of distressing emotion (such as sorrow)
b
regrets plural
: a note politely declining an invitation
Synonyms
Examples of regret in a Sentence
Verb
Don't say anything you might regret later.
I deeply regret what I said.
She does not regret leaving him.
He regrets not traveling more when he was younger.
He says he doesn't regret anything that he's done in his life.
Noun
She has no regrets about leaving him.
My greatest regret is not going to college.
To my regret, I never visited Europe.
It is with deep regret that he is announcing his resignation.
My coworker gives her regrets for not being able to attend the meeting.
Recent Examples on the Web
Christian Holub, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
Gonzalez’s attorneys showed in court a video, from 2019, of top buyers from Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and others praising the designer’s creativity, productivity and humanity — comments prosecutor Watts-Fitzgerald said the retailers likely regret today.
—Joshua Goodman, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024
The ghostwriter who regrets working for Donald Trump.
—The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
Gonzalez's attorneys showed in court a video, from 2019, of top buyers from Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and others praising the designer’s creativity, productivity and humanity — comments prosecutor Watts-Fitzgerald said the retailers likely regret today.
—Joshua Goodman, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2024
Nichols regrets disappointing his family who, for years, did not know about his addiction.
—The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
About an hour into the family visit in the spring of 2022, Watkins regretted her decision.
—Ashley Okwuosa, The Examination; Amy Yurkanin, Al.com; John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
In other videos on the site, women have grappled with their own experiences, expressing everything from relief to regret.
—Emily Schmall, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Despite the ongoing economic woes in San Jose’s urban heart, Sed regrets her venture didn’t become a long-term success story in the city’s downtown.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
Ray Sanchez, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Peck was a longtime friend of the actors; the actors spoke about their regret over the letters in a February episode of their podcast Pod Meets World, prior to docuseries’ release on March 17.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
The fear of missing out, FOMO, is an acute form of regret.
—Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
The trio worked on the tracks for months before finally working on the raging bridge, a big Nineties pop moment from Roan that predicts the regret her negligent partner will face one day.
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
Several of the film’s actors, notably Chalamet, Gomez, and Hall, expressed regret for having worked with Allen (as did others, including Greta Gerwig, Elliot Page, and Colin Firth).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Andy Cohen kicked off the April 1 episode of his SiriusXM radio show by sharing regret over fueling conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton‘s public absence (via Vanity Fair).
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
But the star of the 12-season running HBO show then apologized to Elmo; the Muppet quickly accepted his seemingly sincere expression of regret.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
Now, Gypsy Rose is expressing regret over opening up her life to the public so quickly after being released from prison for second-degree murder in connection to the death of her mom, Dee Dee Blanchard.
—Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
The primary protagonist of Patriots is Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky (Michael Stuhlbarg), who played an important role in elevating Putin from no-name functionary of the security services to president-for-life — and lived to regret it.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
Gonzalez’s attorneys showed in court a video, from 2019, of top buyers from Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and others praising the designer’s creativity, productivity and humanity — comments prosecutor Watts-Fitzgerald said the retailers likely regret today.
—Joshua Goodman, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024
The ghostwriter who regrets working for Donald Trump.
—The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
Gonzalez's attorneys showed in court a video, from 2019, of top buyers from Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and others praising the designer’s creativity, productivity and humanity — comments prosecutor Watts-Fitzgerald said the retailers likely regret today.
—Joshua Goodman, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2024
Nichols regrets disappointing his family who, for years, did not know about his addiction.
—The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
About an hour into the family visit in the spring of 2022, Watkins regretted her decision.
—Ashley Okwuosa, The Examination; Amy Yurkanin, Al.com; John Diedrich, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
In other videos on the site, women have grappled with their own experiences, expressing everything from relief to regret.
—Emily Schmall, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Despite the ongoing economic woes in San Jose’s urban heart, Sed regrets her venture didn’t become a long-term success story in the city’s downtown.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
Noun
Jennifer Crumbley took the stand in her trial and blamed her husband, the school and her son for the shooting, while expressing no regret of her own.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Peck was a longtime friend of the actors; the actors spoke about their regret over the letters in a February episode of their podcast Pod Meets World, prior to docuseries’ release on March 17.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
The fear of missing out, FOMO, is an acute form of regret.
—Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024
The trio worked on the tracks for months before finally working on the raging bridge, a big Nineties pop moment from Roan that predicts the regret her negligent partner will face one day.
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
Several of the film’s actors, notably Chalamet, Gomez, and Hall, expressed regret for having worked with Allen (as did others, including Greta Gerwig, Elliot Page, and Colin Firth).
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Andy Cohen kicked off the April 1 episode of his SiriusXM radio show by sharing regret over fueling conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton‘s public absence (via Vanity Fair).
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
But the star of the 12-season running HBO show then apologized to Elmo; the Muppet quickly accepted his seemingly sincere expression of regret.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
Now, Gypsy Rose is expressing regret over opening up her life to the public so quickly after being released from prison for second-degree murder in connection to the death of her mom, Dee Dee Blanchard.
—Sara Vallone, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'regret.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near regret
Cite this Entry
“Regret.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regret. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
regret
1 of 2 verb
re·gret
ri-ˈgret 
regretted; regretting
1
a
: to mourn the loss or death of
b
: to miss very much
2
: to be keenly sorry for
3
: to experience regret
regret
2 of 2 noun1
: sorrow aroused by events beyond one's control
2
a
: an expression of sorrow or disappointment
b
plural
: a note politely turning down an invitation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share