rueful

adjective

ˈrü-fəl How to pronounce rueful (audio)
Definition of ruefulnext
1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning the rueful faces of friends and family who had gathered to pay their last respects

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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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rueful The conversation is raucous, self-aware and unexpectedly rueful. — Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2026 Kincaid documented the wry, rueful conditions of colonialism and made a request of one of Britain’s most famous fictional characters. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026 To root for #TeamBlack is to know that nothing good can come from impulse, and rueful laughter rippled across the lawn as Jace, eager to fight in his mother’s stead, locks Rhaenyra in her chambers to prevent her from risking her life in battle. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 22 June 2026 Marcus Semien — a 35-year-old second baseman less than a month into his first season in Queens — said, cracking a rueful smile. — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rueful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rueful
  1. mournful
  2. sorry
  3. pitiful
  4. weeping
  5. ashamed
  6. pathetic
  7. heartbroken
  8. remorseful
Adjective
  • Unfortunately, the disembodied feet on my aunt’s staircase were my last spectral sighting and the mournful whistling was my last haunting.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The One About Matthew Perry, a three-part docuseries, out October 27 on Netflix, is more of a celebration of celebrate Perry’s life instead of a mournful tribute or true crime drama about his death and the headline-making trial that followed.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of mournful
Adjective
  • But the case took a twist when the store received a package containing the watch -- and a handwritten note saying sorry, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper and other media reported on Monday, citing unnamed investigative sources.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Feeling sorry for this perfectly happy couple, however, was not.
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of sorry
Adjective
  • Nvidia is the pitiful, helpless giant, now revealed, according to the bears, to have just propped up an ecosystem for its own earnings, with a CEO now revealed to be a dubious character.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Yet Scudder, a progressive thirty-six-year-old real-estate analyst raised by lesbians on a purple-hull-pea farm in East Texas, assumed the post in 2025, and has been in a rush to reverse his party’s pitiful showings.
    — Jesús Rodríguez, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of pitiful
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
  • The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.
    — Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021
Definition of weeping
Adjective
  • The wicker man’s superiority makes all the villagers feel ashamed.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Ben Affleck clearly isn’t ashamed to be a third wheel with best friend Matt Damon and his wife.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of ashamed
Adjective
  • In fact, the only previous cinematic encounter was the unfortunate 2003 live-action version with Mike Myers that flopped critically and at the box office, winning a pathetic 10 Razzie nominations as one of the worst pictures of that year.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Simply pathetic, but, MY LIONS stay close in the NFC North race and sets up what should be one of the biggest Thanksgiving Day games in Lions history when the Bears come to town on November 26.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of pathetic
Adjective
  • The victim’s heartbroken father said his son had been bullied by a couple of students at the school who were recently suspended — and believes the bullying may have something to do with Javits’ murder.
    — Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The death of Sir Patrick Stewart has left Hollywood heartbroken as his co-stars, colleagues, and fellow actors recall rare encounters, days on set, and priceless advice the acting legend shared with them.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of heartbroken
Adjective
  • The once-promising prodigy will grow dissolute, remorseful and resentful of his wife, who outlives him.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The 6-foot-3, 246-pound junior was remorseful after the game.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of remorseful

Browse Nearby Words

rued
rueful
ruefully
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Cite this Entry

“Rueful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rueful. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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