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
-
Such memories flowed freely this week on social media and in mournful first-person essays.—
Dan Adler,
Vanity Fair,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Newsom shakes his head, seeming more mournful than angry.—
Maya Singer,
Vogue,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
As one of the stars of gay hockey smut — sorry, show — Heated Rivalry, Storrie’s overnight catapult into the spotlight has bestowed upon him a rabid fanbase of horny women.—
Rima Parikh,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Customers Mari Acero and William Cormier, who work at Club Space’s offices across the street, are sorry to see Las Palmas go.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Gallup reached only 50,000 people, a pitiful fraction of The Literary Digest’s awe-inspiring mailbag.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Mercy came via a bye week, the pitiful Raiders and an inept Cowboys defense.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 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
-
Not by feeling ashamed, but not by ignoring or forgetting the history either.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Be ashamed and humiliated and would have apologized.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The jobs report was a complete failure, and his economic approval sits at a pathetic 39%.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Now, any of the most pathetic four can draft first overall.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That title follows the tragic story of British teenager Molly Russell, who was driven by social media to take her own life in 2017, and her heartbroken father’s quest to uncover the truth behind her death.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
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Savannah Guthrie and her heartbroken family are now offering a $1 million reward in hopes of receiving information about the whereabouts of their mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home nearly a month ago.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
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
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This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit.—
Anna Peele,
Vanity Fair,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rueful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rueful. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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