regrettable

adjective

re·​gret·​ta·​ble ri-ˈgre-tə-bəl How to pronounce regrettable (audio)
: deserving regret

Examples of regrettable in a Sentence

His decision to quit is regrettable. It was a regrettable mistake.
Recent Examples on the Web My most regrettable investing move was selling 500 shares of Amazon.com way back in 2000 when the stock price was in the teens in order to buy a car. The Motley Fool, Dallas News, 23 July 2023 Of course, all noncombatant casualties are regrettable, and every effort should be made to minimize them. Foreign Affairs, 27 Oct. 2023 There are, inevitably, some regrettable omissions in the series. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2023 Any forced repatriation of North Koreans goes against international norms and South Korea views it as regrettable, Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, told a media briefing. Reuters, NBC News, 13 Oct. 2023 This is particularly regrettable, Jilani said, given how Muslim students have rallied in support of other social justice and liberation causes, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the Ukrainian resistance, which are widely embraced in higher education. Laura Meckler, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2023 Here’s how to keep your Halloween practices at work professional — and not regrettable. Erica Lamberg, Fox News, 10 Oct. 2023 And yet, time spent searching, noodling, and browsing online tends to feel narrow and airless, like being led toward an unforeseeable, and too often, regrettable conclusion. Suzannah Showler, WIRED, 3 Oct. 2023 Read full article The Patriots made the kind of instantly regrettable, how-can-that-happen mistakes in their opener last year, too. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'regrettable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of regrettable was in 1603

Dictionary Entries Near regrettable

Cite this Entry

“Regrettable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regrettable. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

regrettable

adjective
re·​gret·​ta·​ble ri-ˈgret-ə-bəl How to pronounce regrettable (audio)
: deserving regret

More from Merriam-Webster on regrettable

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