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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Wyle’s face — rueful, furious, gentle, world weary — looks like this year has felt.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
But most of Guy’s stories are told with the rueful smile of a man who knows his days of being underappreciated and underpaid are behind him.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2025
That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
—Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
That race ended with the elder Cuomo coming in second with 40% of the vote—a number the son invoked in his concession speech with a rueful smile.
—Nik Popli, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rueful
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
But most of Guy’s stories are told with the rueful smile of a man who knows his days of being underappreciated and underpaid are behind him.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2025
That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
—Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
That race ended with the elder Cuomo coming in second with 40% of the vote—a number the son invoked in his concession speech with a rueful smile.
—Nik Popli, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rueful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rueful
Adjective
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His face, always stationed somewhere halfway to hangdog, seems to gain 20 new creases carved deep into his skin, accentuating his mournful eyes and his excruciated, heartbroken smile.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
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Her music choices, mournful and dreamy, also add a sense of significance.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Instead, build a team that reaches out first, acknowledges disruptions, and says sorry before frustration boils over.—
Harvard Business Review,
Harvard Business Review,
20 Apr. 2026
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Which may be a sad indication of what these sorry events did to each member of her family.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Most of the time, experts say, vaguebooking boils down to a pitiful plea for attention on the part of the poster.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
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Given that California ranks a pitiful 49th in the nation in the condition, safety and costs of roads and bridges, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2025 Annual Highway Report, taxpayers’ transportation dollars would likely be better spent elsewhere.—
Adam Summers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Mar. 2026
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
-
May the world know that Americans are ashamed and suffering and locked into despair and destruction, which now affects the world.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
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There’s nothing to be ashamed of with our locker room right now from this game.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The 'merch hauls' on social media are awful, the desperate pathetic influencers trying to clout chase using the Masters are all awful.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2026
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In a 2024 TikTok video that has reeled in over six million views, Welch shows the pathetic state of her softside suitcase upon her arrival at O’ahu.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The singer's brother Eric Stefani wrote the first version, and modified it with help from a freshly heartbroken Gwen, who had just broken up with the band's bassist Tony Kanal — one of a few times in music history that the subject of the song also contributed to its production.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
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Jamel Davis’ longtime live-in girlfriend first asked her son to stop smoking in the family’s home in the Walt Whitman Houses near Fort Greene Park, sparking a fight, according to the slain man’s heartbroken brother.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Horner did not seem remorseful in the interview, Espinoza said.—
Amy McDaniel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Apr. 2026
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Todd Kesterson of Kaufman Rossin said his remorseful clients aren't necessarily strapped for cash, but are frequently displeased when their children's fortunes exceed theirs.—
Hayley Cuccinello,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rueful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rueful. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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