1
as in lame
arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust
one more sorry stunt like that and you'll be fired
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sad
causing unhappiness
we have sorry news to report tonight
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pathetic
deserving pitying scorn (as for inadequacy)
the ragtag circus was a sorry spectacle indeed
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4
as in ashamed
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
she's genuinely sorry for hurting his feelings
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in unhappy
feeling unhappiness
was sorry to see the family farm being sold
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6
as in heartbroken
expressing or suggesting mourning
those sorry rituals that we go through when somebody dies are not for the dead but for the living
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7
as in poor
deserving of one's pity
some sorry wretch had the task of putting all of those files back in order
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sorry
Big Brother 4 The first season with a sequestered jury (sorry, Danielle Reyes), Big Brother 4 was also the first installment in which players with a history outside of the house played together.
—
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
The current roster is a sinking ship taking on water faster than the public relations department — sorry, the front office — can bail.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 2 June 2026
Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
The claaaaw—sorry, the baaaangs!
—Mykenna Maniece, Vogue, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sorry
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
The current roster is a sinking ship taking on water faster than the public relations department — sorry, the front office — can bail.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 2 June 2026
Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
The claaaaw—sorry, the baaaangs!
—Mykenna Maniece, Vogue, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sorry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorry
Adjective
-
As lame as the fact that an Erewhon smoothie costs $19 is that so many of us need to be paid to be nice to each other.—
Swan Huntley,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2026
-
Santana tried to jump off the steps to clothesline Maclin but came up a bit lame.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
The other six ascended to the highest office in the land as a result of the dysfunction that has made Peru a punch line in political-science circles, a sad story of ungovernability played on a loop.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
There’s a one-note quality to the film’s comedy that grows steadily, even deliberately, more abrasive over two hours, but the sad, brash, gradually shrinking bigness of the personalities at its center holds your attention.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
By then, Thomsen says, the public perception had shifted from regarding it as tough and controversial to seeing it as desperate and pathetic.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
-
The plan involved discovering a long lost princess, hopping on a plane to London, breaking into a museum store room, and enlisting the help of a very pathetic historian.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
At their most effective, residential schools left Survivors ashamed and confused about being Indigenous.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
-
Mike Isaac, a veteran tech reporter for the Times, wasn’t ashamed to admit that Brockman had inspired him to secure his own butt pillow.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
Carting around unhappy campers in 100-degree weather and squeezing work into a shorter window is not exactly being poolside with a marg.—
Abby McCloskey,
Twin Cities,
4 June 2026
-
Mansfield city hall a point of contention Melissa Perez, who ultimately lost to Simmons in last year’s council race, is one of those unhappy with Mansfield’s leadership and its direction.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Ali later finds her, a moment that leaves him completely heartbroken, before testing the drugs and confirming they were laced with fentanyl.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
-
Horace leaves Hollywood and a heartbroken but determined Aaron behind.—
Meredith Maran,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Common travel regrets stem from preventable issues like poor planning, budget problems, and choosing the wrong companions.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
O’Farrell’s inclination for narratives propelled by brutal coincidence and fatally poor timing tenders a Hardy-esque vision of the world, one that emphasizes the rigid, often cruel limits of an individual’s jurisdiction over the course of their life.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Trump has made a pitiful shambles of what should have been a glorious moment.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
-
With his country flailing in their pitiful attempts to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, at the age of 33, Zidane underwent his change of heart.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sorry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorry. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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