ruefully

adverb

Definition of ruefullynext
as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief ruefully accepted the fact that the drunk driver would never adequately pay for his crime

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 ruefully Carrie Warick-Smith, at the Association of Community College Trustees, laughed ruefully when she was asked when that journey — and the free money to start it — might actually begin. — Elissa Nadworny, NPR, 30 June 2026 As Chemerinsky ruefully admits, courts have deemed such suits in recent decades to be political questions outside their scope. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 1 May 2026 Nikki Glaser is looking back ruefully on being eliminated first from Dancing With the Stars season 27. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026 Defying the line in the play where Robert Shaw ruefully hopes none of his children will become actors, Ian Shaw is a veteran stage, film and TV performer, mostly taking smaller parts in the United Kingdom. — Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026 This last comment came from a fellow traveler, ruefully disclosing an act of self-defense many years ago. — Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026 Elsa / Getty Images The Atlanta Falcons’ struggles had head coach Raheem Morris ruefully quoting his former boss and friend, Mike Tomlin. — Josh Kendall, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025 Safdie says as Johnson laughs ruefully. — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025 Annoyingly, the line was all McNamara, D'Arcy points out ruefully. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruefully
  1. bitterly
  2. sorrowfully
  3. sadly
  4. mournfully
  5. painfully
Adverb
  • Congressional Republicans are headed into the home stretch ahead of a crucial midterm election year bitterly divided over their competing legislative priorities.
    — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There were riots, protests and a bitterly divisive war in Vietnam that looked intractable.
    — Steven Johnson, Washington Post, 14 July 2026
Definition of bitterly
Adverb
  • Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.
    — Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Definition of sorrowfully
Adverb
  • My summer dresses will sadly be retired in the coming weeks, but a denim midi skirt is the ideal swap on days when I can’t be bothered to wear jeans.
    — Olivia Cigliano, InStyle, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Culture matters, and too often sadly those who are being asked to pay the price of climate change are not those who were putting carbon into the atmosphere in the first place.
    — Morgan Simon, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of sadly
Adverb
  • Mayfield watched mournfully in his kitchen while the rest of the family sat in the living room with the big screen next to a Christmas tree.
    — John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026
  • So is the moment early in the film when Mary mournfully looks on as her long-ago home faces demolition to make room for a big, featureless residential complex.
    — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2026
Definition of mournfully
Adverb
  • Unfortunately, Winger committed the mortal sins of having a pretty boy lead singer and painfully cheesy videos (even by 80s standards), so most people dismissed them and Beach as cheap imitators.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • His distance from Henry was painfully emphasized when his son got in trouble for bullying another classmate, and the idea of Michelle (Andrea Anders) getting engaged to someone else sent him into a tailspin.
    — Rachel LaBonte, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of painfully

Browse Nearby Words

rueful
ruefully
rues
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ruefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruefully. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All