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
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Recent Examples of rueful
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
Recognizing that gulf is a sad thing for her, and Huston holds Anderson’s intense close-ups with an expression both loving and rueful at once.
40.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
Yet as the film wends its way through the narrow streets, harbors and glittering waters of Spain’s salty Galician coastline, immersing itself in chaotic gatherings of family and community, the title’s spiritual aspect takes on a rueful irony.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 May 2025
The designer laughed, shook her head with a little rueful humor.
—Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rueful
Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
Recognizing that gulf is a sad thing for her, and Huston holds Anderson’s intense close-ups with an expression both loving and rueful at once.
40.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 12 June 2025
Yet as the film wends its way through the narrow streets, harbors and glittering waters of Spain’s salty Galician coastline, immersing itself in chaotic gatherings of family and community, the title’s spiritual aspect takes on a rueful irony.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 May 2025
The designer laughed, shook her head with a little rueful humor.
—Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rueful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rueful
Adjective
-
Similarly, the discreetly mournful compositions of Giorgio Matteo and Aki Oliviero’s score hover politely on the periphery of the (in)action, careful not to intrude.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
-
His narration is a constant pleasure — mournful, wry, and suffused with a world-weary poetry.—
Leila Latif,
IndieWire,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The website clarifies that Kith Ivy will host an Erewhon Tonic Bar (sorry, not the full grocery store) for members.—
Oren Peleg,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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Your chance is now 25 out of 292 million, which is still, sorry to say, infinitesimal.—
Mark Fischetti,
Scientific American,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
As del Toro sees it, Frankenstein’s pitiful creation has been cursed with life, cannot be killed (even bullets don’t stop him) and must face the same existential crisis that confronts us all.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
30 Aug. 2025
-
Over 1,000 murdered whilst queuing for aid, starved due to their siege, whilst pitiful amounts of aid delivered by a sham agency controlled by Israel.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
20 Aug. 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
-
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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This doesn’t seem like a company that is ashamed to be caught stealing.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Some were too ashamed to speak publicly.—
Felipe Schrieberg,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The end of that era came slowly, through the pathetic collapse of Syria and Lebanon as functioning states, and then quickly, when Israel began touching Hezbollah in unexpected places.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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Want the poop on this pathetic history?—
Brian Domitrovic,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Hill’s 21-year-old son told WXYZ that his whole family is heartbroken.—
Jennifer Rodriguez,
Kansas City Star,
4 Sep. 2025
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Over the past half-decade, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has been called off three times, leaving behind unrealized lineups, swampy farmlands, and heartbroken fans.—
Audrey Gibbs,
The Tennessean,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
All my remorseful online purchases happened during the pandemic.—
Justin Caffier,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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Lucky for the Eagles, a remorseful Carter won't receive a suspension for his spit.—
Jim Reineking,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rueful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rueful. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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