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 of regretful

• 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

George Clooney, Adam Sandler, and Billy Crudup as Jay Kelly’s trio of reflective, regretful, resentful men were also left to sit on the sidelines and wait for the Academy to come calling instead. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025

Her scenes with Burstein are rich and funny and regretful; those with June (Jordan Tyson) and Louise (Joy Woods) are withering. —Fernando Quiles Jr, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025

Wilson is one of the richest characters in Stamp’s oeuvre: regretful and resigned, hilarious and mournful, and deeply angry yet with flashes of tenderness. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025

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

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for regretful

• forgetful
• fretful