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

• heartbroken
• mournful
• weeping
• funeral
• bitter
• sad
• grieving
• unhappy
• sorry
• sorrowful
• anguished
• melancholy

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 stories were humorous and poignant, regretful and filled with silver linings. —Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2025

Weapon art: Call regretful visages in a swirl of smoke. —Oliver Brandt, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025

Kim’s regretful aria in Act 1 — suspecting his own brother of his father’s murder, Artaserse has mistakenly ordered him to be executed — was a turning point. —Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2025

Even really successful cast members are a little regretful or self-deprecating about it, or feel anxious even talking about it. —Peter White, Deadline, 18 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for regretful

• forgetful
• fretful