as in sadly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
I must regretfully inform you that you are not among those who have been accepted for our internship program
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Recent Examples of regretfully
Teenagers look around and see adults thinking back on the year, whether wistfully, regretfully, triumphantly or gratefully.
—
Dr. Marlena Corcoran, Forbes.com, 29 Dec. 2025
The polite way to decline an invite to a wedding is to wish them well, thank them for inviting you and regretfully decline.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
For the role of Desmond, Wilder turned to Swanson, who in real life had also once existed among Hollywood’s loftiest ranks at the height of her career during the Silent Era of the 1920s and '30s, but had gradually — but not regretfully — followed other directions when her stardom waned.
—Scott Huver, People.com, 3 Aug. 2025
Both bravely and regretfully, Daniel shared how those feelings led him to treat his friends poorly.
—Claudia Levens, Journal Sentinel, 18 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for regretfully
Dr. Marlena Corcoran, Forbes.com, 29 Dec. 2025
The polite way to decline an invite to a wedding is to wish them well, thank them for inviting you and regretfully decline.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
For the role of Desmond, Wilder turned to Swanson, who in real life had also once existed among Hollywood’s loftiest ranks at the height of her career during the Silent Era of the 1920s and '30s, but had gradually — but not regretfully — followed other directions when her stardom waned.
—Scott Huver, People.com, 3 Aug. 2025
Both bravely and regretfully, Daniel shared how those feelings led him to treat his friends poorly.
—Claudia Levens, Journal Sentinel, 18 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for regretfully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for regretfully
Adverb
-
David Smith, one of the former owners, reports that despite its wild popularity, the original cake recipe sadly got lost.—
Nancy Vienneau,
Southern Living,
17 May 2026
-
Hüller is having a hell of a year, winning the Silver Bear for her role as a woman passing herself off as a male soldier to claim an estate in Rose, and playing the wry, sadly pragmatic head of the international task force in Project Hail Mary, one of the biggest hits of the year.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
On February 20, 1933, a bitterly cold winter day, President Hoover had laid the cornerstone of the new archives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
-
Players and owners fought bitterly about how many games should be played during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, settling on 60 games.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Adverb
-
By now, the playbook is painfully predictable.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
-
The 29-year-old influencer, best known as Corporate Natalie, has built an audience of more than 2 million followers by making corporate culture feel funny, relatable and painfully accurate.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
17 May 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Regretfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/regretfully. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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