1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
the rueful faces of friends and family who had gathered to pay their last respects
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sorry
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
a rueful youth who had come to ask for forgiveness for online bullying
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pitiful
deserving of one's pity
the rueful, desperate poverty of people in parts of the Third World
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rueful
After that excruciating miss Saturday, Sabalenka dropped her racket on the blue court and smiled a rueful smile.
—
Jason Ma, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2025
After that excruciating miss, Sabalenka dropped her racket on the blue court and smiled a rueful smile.
—Howard Fendrich, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
The only catharsis or healing to be found in the film comes from the titular apology, more a rueful word of caution than anything else.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
Keitel begins the scene with an intimidating growl and ends it in rueful melancholy.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rueful
Jason Ma, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2025
After that excruciating miss, Sabalenka dropped her racket on the blue court and smiled a rueful smile.
—Howard Fendrich, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
The only catharsis or healing to be found in the film comes from the titular apology, more a rueful word of caution than anything else.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
Keitel begins the scene with an intimidating growl and ends it in rueful melancholy.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rueful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rueful
Adjective
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The zebras pranced, all frisky energy; the elephants, lumbering and mournful, trailed behind with their ancient thoughts.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
30 Oct. 2025
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Kogonada’s mournful sci-fi drama takes place in a world where people can buy robot children and follows all the sorrow that comes with the arrangement.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Certainly no other fan base will feel sorry for Blackhawks fans, but man, what Blackhawks fans wouldn’t give to be nitpicking a coach’s decision about who plays right wing on the fourth line again rather than checking out who’ll be available at the top of the draft in June.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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Miss Manners is sorry to see the end of an ancient tradition that was one of the hallmarks of civilization.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Yet Plemons imbues him with despair, finding a pitiful fragility in his aggression.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
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Jerry Jeudy has struggled, and the depth behind Jeudy has been pitiful.—
Matthew Schmidt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Then sank a flotilla,Then fought a gorilla,And wasn’t ashamed one scintilla!—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Oct. 2025
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The only one who should be ashamed is Robert De Niro.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Enter Claude Whelan, played by James Callis, a fine actor with a face that can contort itself into about a dozen different versions of misery and pathetic dismay.—
Brian Grubb,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
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Ratcheting up the pressure on the pathetic Putin will be the only way this war ends.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The family returned home heartbroken and frustrated, with no DNA testing conducted and no indication that the remains—or any other evidence—had been preserved or examined.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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But the human in me — my heart and my soul — was heartbroken.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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During her sentencing, Javice appeared remorseful, according to several reports.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
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While the lyrics seem remorseful, Cardi’s only regrets are for him.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rueful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rueful. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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