1
as in heartbroken
expressing or suggesting mourning
gave me a regretful look when I told him we had to move my mother to a nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sorry
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
was truly regretful that she had yelled at him
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of regretful
Simon is angry, regretful, and disappointed at his lack of control.
—
Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Williams knows how to humanize this bare-bones vocabulary, minutely adjusting the voicing of a chord or caressing the last of a set of recurring motifs with a regretful ritardando.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
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
Tsukasa is 26 and feeling a little wayward, regretful about his late start in figure skating.
—Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for regretful
Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Williams knows how to humanize this bare-bones vocabulary, minutely adjusting the voicing of a chord or caressing the last of a set of recurring motifs with a regretful ritardando.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
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
Tsukasa is 26 and feeling a little wayward, regretful about his late start in figure skating.
—Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for regretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for regretful
Adjective
-
His heartbroken daughter told the Daily News just days after the attack that he was not expected to survive.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
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My heart goes out to the heartbroken family of Sheridan Gorman.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
To be sure, few freedom-loving people are sorry to see Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gone.—
Storer H. Rowley,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
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But only sorry until the Gershwin got so irresistibly underway.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Over the years, humpback whale songs have been recorded for human listening, with many describing the songs as having a haunting, mournful quality.—
Patrick Whittle,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
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Humpback whales, which can weigh more than 55,000 pounds, are the ocean's most renowned singers, capable of complex vocalizations that can sound ethereal or even mournful.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
When the soldiers finally walk away, Noor is ashamed of Salim’s capitulation and practically runs away from his father.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
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Many parents feel ashamed to ask for help, but reaching out builds connection and shows strength, not failure.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
She's been remorseful since day 1.—
March 16,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Melling’s scenes all took place in the objectively less exciting muggle universe, occurring along a fairly straightforward arc from spoiled bully to remorseful young adult.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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After her radiation treatment, Peet returned a clear scan in January of this year, and soon after began making funeral arrangements for her mother; Peet’s father died in 2025 amid the cancer ordeal.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2026
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Attorneys for both Macy and Mallory Morphew said in their initial filing that their mother's remains were at Swan Lake Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, and had a funeral service planned for their mother when law enforcement took possession of the body.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Eventually, he was escorted out of the event space, with Palmer looking concerned for him and apologetic toward her co-stars and the crowd.—
William Earl,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
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In a lengthy and apologetic statement, Altman claimed that OpenAI was now altering the terms of its Pentagon deal to explicitly prohibit the use of its AI systems to surveil US citizens, exhibiting a degree of people-pleasing normally witnessed in its sycophantic chatbots.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Regretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/regretful. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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