1
as in heartbroken
expressing or suggesting mourning
gave me a regretful look when I told him we had to move my mother to a nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sorry
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
was truly regretful that she had yelled at him
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Recent Examples of regretful
The irony is that songwriter Ezra Koenig and his buddies can’t relinquish memories, which inform, on the transportive B-side, the most somber, regretful music of their career.
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Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Danny White, whose football team is currently ranked No. 5, appears less regretful.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2024
No more bunnies at Petco Petco will stop selling pet rabbits following criticism that the practice led to regretful owners, overwhelmed by bunny-care, Jonathan Limehouse reports.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 24 Sep. 2024
People call it soulless, posting regretful before-and-after photos of house flippers ripping out hardwood in favor of gray laminate or turning warm Midcentury spaces into cold, modern ones.
—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for regretful 
Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
Danny White, whose football team is currently ranked No. 5, appears less regretful.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 26 Sep. 2024
No more bunnies at Petco Petco will stop selling pet rabbits following criticism that the practice led to regretful owners, overwhelmed by bunny-care, Jonathan Limehouse reports.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 24 Sep. 2024
People call it soulless, posting regretful before-and-after photos of house flippers ripping out hardwood in favor of gray laminate or turning warm Midcentury spaces into cold, modern ones.
—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for regretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for regretful
Adjective
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Grimes became an orphan a year later at age 15, when her heartbroken father was killed in a car accident.Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 25 Dec. 2024
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Reason Dog Was Returned To Shelter Breaks Hearts: ‘Please Don’t Leave Me’ By Maria Azzurra Volpe Life and Trends Reporter 2 A pup named Valentina was returned to a shelter just before the holidays, and her heartbroken face has gone viral on social media.Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 25 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Maybe that’s Activision’s way of saying sorry for the rampant cheating that’s plagued Warzone lately.Erik Kain, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
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For a country that prides itself on freedom, Florida’s book, class and topic bans are a sorry sight.Brayden Pryor, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Her observations as a woman once romantically involved with the two of them at the same time, confirm their masculine inability to speak their feelings out loud unless they are veiled in mournful songs.Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 28 Nov. 2024
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Very few directors working today can put across a movie like Gladiator II as convincingly, which perhaps explains why the sequel — for all its barbaric violence and the plaintive, at times stirring, discussions about justice and democracy — doesn’t have the mournful quality that the first film did.Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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What follows is a study in guilt, responsibility, and anguish, all told in ashamed interiority on Murphy’s face.Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2024
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When parents don’t replicate these behaviors in real life, kids might feel disappointed or even ashamed.Holly Garcia, Parents, 5 Dec. 2024
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
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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
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The crew seems to have learned their lesson, or at least put on their most remorseful faces.Emma Soren, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024
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Caleb's very remorseful and his heartfelt sympathies are extended to the Parris family.Rachel DeSantis, People.com, 21 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Dido, after her lover Aeneas deserts her, kills herself with his sword on a funeral pyre, but not before building an effigy of him to burn alongside her.Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
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The Associated Press reported that the funeral location was not made public in advance to prevent a large crowd from gathering.Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Women were expected to be apologetic and submissive.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
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Ayub as Adam is taciturn, hesitant and always apologetic, keeping his eyes downcast and his shoulders hunched.Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Regretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/regretful. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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