rueful

adjective

rue·​ful ˈrü-fəl 

1

: exciting pity or sympathy : pitiable

… rueful squalid poverty … by every wayside …

—John Morley

2

: mournful, regretful

… troubled her with a rueful disquiet.

—William Thackeray

ruefully

ˈrü-fə-lē 

adverb

ruefulness noun

Synonyms of rueful

• mournful
• weeping
• heartbroken
• funeral
• bitter
• melancholy

Examples of rueful in a Sentence

He gave me a rueful smile and apologized.

the rueful faces of friends and family who had gathered to pay their last respects

Recent Examples on the Web

To root for #TeamBlack is to know that nothing good can come from impulse, and rueful laughter rippled across the lawn as Jace, eager to fight in his mother’s stead, locks Rhaenyra in her chambers to prevent her from risking her life in battle. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 June 2026

Marcus Semien — a 35-year-old second baseman less than a month into his first season in Queens — said, cracking a rueful smile. — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026

But Dear Nashville succeeds because Monroe’s songs are rueful rather than bitter, determined and occasionally defiant but never defeated. — Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork, 7 Apr. 2026

Metcalf and Pullman are both wonderful in their shuffling ordinariness, reenacting long-obsolete parental dynamics with a kind of rueful, hopeful denial. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

rueful

adjective

rue·​ful ˈrü-fəl 

1

: exciting pity or sympathy

2

: mournful sense 1, regretful

ruefully

-fə-lē 

adverb