How to Use regretful in a Sentence

regretful

adjective

• Unfortunately the hardest part to this is not to live in a regretful state.
  — Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Feb. 2025
• The pair engage in a nasty courtroom spat on behalf of their regretful clients, chewing scenery to our delight.
  — Ben Flanagan | [email protected], al, 26 May 2022
• And George's death was obviously regretful and the manner of it is not great.
  — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 18 May 2024
• My regretful error was not planning to give myself enough time to properly shop.
  — Colleen McNally Arnett, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2026
• But even a wildly successful World Cup month might be looked back on as a regretful case of what-ifs.
  — Tristan Bove, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026
• Some unvaccinated patients are regretful in the face of the illness that could kill them.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 18 Sep. 2021
• However, this situation is bound to make a mother feel sad and regretful.
  — Amy Dickinson, chicagotribune.com, 23 July 2021
• Tsukasa is 26 and feeling a little wayward, regretful about his late start in figure skating.
  — Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2025
• Tsukasa is 26 and feeling a little wayward, regretful about his late start in figure skating.
  — Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025
• That’s interesting because there’s not been a case being made for going back in, just a lot of regretful noises.
  — Mishal Husain, Bloomberg, 22 May 2026
• Just practice the regretful smile that should accompany the refusal.
  — Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2025
• Even as lab-diamond sales have taken off, Wegman told me, most buyers have the same approach as that regretful bride.
  — Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2024
• And sometimes those regretful errors include ignoring someone on the school bus.
  — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2022
• The two end up drinking together, and the next morning, Rebecca wakes up in his bed, regretful of the one-night stand.
  — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 21 Dec. 2025
• My sole interaction with the mother was calm and with good intentions, and the outcome of the encounter is regretful.
  — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
• And while other age groups are less regretful, homebuyer’s remorse cuts across the board and happens to a full 52% of all buyers.
  — Regina Cole, Forbes, 31 Aug. 2021
• Simon is angry, regretful, and disappointed at his lack of control.
  — Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
• Upon her death, Neiman wrote a deeply regretful letter about Carrie to nephew Stanley.
  — Michael Granberry, Dallas News, 3 Sep. 2021
• And the conflict behind it all dates back to a regretful college recruitment and housing decision.
  — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 8 Mar. 2026
• The first four episodes of the new season, which lead up to and include Diana’s death, present her as sad, knowing, regretful, even forgiving.
  — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2023
• Heaney, as one of the editors, was in the middle of this and obviously disturbed (and regretful), but the traces of this event in his letters are meager.
  — Christian Wiman, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024
• But the plight of the regretful ex-employee may become even more widespread in the wake of the Great Resignation.
  — Sarah Todd, Quartz, 27 Oct. 2021
• Gene Rossi, another attorney for Taylor, said his client was regretful about the shooting.
  — Jim Morrison and Justin Jouvenal, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2023
• Now, Nicole is speaking out about her regretful decision to share such a personal story about one of her past relationships.
  — Giana Levy, refinery29.com, 17 Oct. 2024
• He's earned this opportunity by growing into what appears to be a good young man after being, like many of us, a youth full of regretful decisions.
  — Phil Hay, The Athletic, 3 Aug. 2024
• Regina genuinely likes Louis, is regretful about getting loud with him, and after learning about Claudia feels sorry for him.
  — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
• By the end of this conversation, Robinson looked amused and maybe a little regretful that my question had prompted such an extravagant list.
  — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2021
• The r/Anxiety subreddit is filled with folks who report feeling panicky, empty, regretful, or guilty as day transitions to night.
  — Lauren Mazzo, SELF, 16 Oct. 2024
• As expected, many regretful habits are attached to nighttime routines–when some productive distractions or extra comforts added to the process can at first feel like a godsend.
  — Devonne Goode, Parents, 24 Jan. 2025
• Kalanick ultimately left the board after the lawsuit was dropped—but since then some members of Benchmark have become regretful that the dispute was so public.
  — Charles Duhigg, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020