rue
1to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly: to rue the loss of opportunities.
to wish that (something) had never been done, taken place, etc.: I rue the day he was born.
to feel sorrow, repentance, or regret.
sorrow; repentance; regret.
pity or compassion.
Origin of rue
1Other words from rue
- ruer, noun
- un·rued, adjective
Other definitions for rue (2 of 2)
any strongly scented plant of the genus Ruta, especially R. graveolens, having yellow flowers and leaves formerly used in medicine.
Origin of rue
2- Compare rue family.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rue in a sentence
Never in his life Rolf forgot that sight, which few men had seen without ruing it, of Grettir angry and ready for the fray.
The Story of Rolf and the Viking's Bow | Allen FrenchAll she there told him, ruing death for friend so young, algate sore unwilling God's rightwiseness to withsay.
Ulysses | James JoyceLilly, too, would be sitting there some day, bitterly ruing her lost youth as one regrets an act of criminal folly.
The Song of Songs | Hermann SudermannAnd who was this inhuman being calling God's property his own, and ruing it as he would not have dared to use a beast?
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 3 of 4 | American Anti-Slavery Society
British Dictionary definitions for rue (1 of 2)
/ (ruː) /
to feel sorrow, remorse, or regret for (one's own wrongdoing, past events with unpleasant consequences, etc)
archaic sorrow, pity, or regret
Origin of rue
1Derived forms of rue
- ruer, noun
British Dictionary definitions for rue (2 of 2)
/ (ruː) /
any rutaceous plant of the genus Ruta, esp R. graveolens, an aromatic Eurasian shrub with small yellow flowers and evergreen leaves which yield an acrid volatile oil, formerly used medicinally as a narcotic and stimulant: Archaic name: herb of grace Compare goat's-rue, meadow rue, wall rue
Origin of rue
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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