regret
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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a sense of loss, disappointment, dissatisfaction, etc.
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a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, disappointment, etc.
- Antonyms:
- joy
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regrets, a polite, usually formal refusal of an invitation.
I sent her my regrets.
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a note expressing regret at one's inability to accept an invitation.
I have had four acceptances and one regret.
verb
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(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to feel sorry, repentant, or upset about
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to bemoan or grieve the death or loss of
noun
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a sense of repentance, guilt, or sorrow, as over some wrong done or an unfulfilled ambition
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a sense of loss or grief
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(plural) a polite expression of sadness, esp in a formal refusal of an invitation
Usage
Regretful and regretfully are sometimes wrongly used where regrettable and regrettably are meant: he gave a regretful smile; he smiled regretfully; this is a regrettable (not regretful ) mistake; regrettably (not regretfully ) , I shall be unable to attend
Synonym Usage
Regret, penitence, remorse imply a sense of sorrow about events in the past, usually wrongs committed or errors made. Regret is distress of mind, sorrow for what has been done or failed to be done: to have no regrets. Penitence implies a sense of sin or misdoing, a feeling of contrition and determination not to sin again: a humble sense of penitence. Remorse implies pangs, qualms of conscience, a sense of guilt, regret, and repentance for sins committed, wrongs done, or duty not performed: a deep sense of remorse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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regretfulnessnoun
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regretternoun
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regretfuladjective
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regrettableadjective
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unregrettedadjective
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unregrettingadjective
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regretfullyadverb
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regrettablyadverb
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regrettinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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regretsimple
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regretssimple
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have regrettedperfect
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has regrettedperfect
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am regrettingprogressive
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are regrettingprogressive
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is regrettingprogressive
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have been regrettingperfect progressive
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has been regrettingperfect progressive
Past
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regrettedsimple
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had regrettedperfect
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was regrettingprogressive
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were regrettingprogressive
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had been regrettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of regret
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English regrete, regretten (verb), from Middle French regreter, Old French, equivalent to re- re- + -greter, perhaps from Germanic ( cf. greet 2)
Explanation
To regret something is to wish it had never happened. Wish you hadn't reached for that fourth piece of chocolate cake? You regret it. Regret is often called a useless emotion, because you can only regret what has already taken place. It's too late to change things, so all that's left to do is regret. Regret can also function as a noun, as in the feeling of regret you have when you realize that you should have been nicer to your kid sister and should have not locked her into the dog crate for the afternoon. You often hear people exclaim "No regrets!" when they talk about their life choices, but we're dubious because who doesn't have at least one horrible outfit in their memory that makes them cringe with a feeling of regret?
Vocabulary lists containing regret
"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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List 14
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Forget FOMO: Fear of financial regret is keeping younger Americans at home on Saturday night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The attacks were "sad and abhorrent", Ramaphosa said, adding that "we in South Africa deeply regret and mourn" the lives lost.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Nino said he had come to regret deeply the tone of his Obergefell dissent and its personal references. He apologized for being intemperate,” Kennedy wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
"And I just felt like, if I didn't say something, I'd regret it massively."
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
His only regret, he said, was that he hadn’t acted sooner.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
OpenAI offers some open-weight models and Altman, its chief executive, said last year that he regrets the company’s past stance against the tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The new levies received swift condemnation from target countries, with Japan saying it "regrets" the duties and Australia's trade minister calling them "unjustified."
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
McElwee refuses to scrub the truth from his personal histories, choosing instead to confront his own regrets head-on.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
"That's what drove me on to the golf, not wanting to have any regrets down the line and to see what I can do," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
When the day finally came, he drove us to the airport, the radio tuned to the American radio station, where Brenda Lee sang her regrets.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
She also sidestepped questions about whether she regretted any of her decisions during the uprising.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
I quickly regretted my words after I cradled Cosmo in my arms to unsuccessfully calm him down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Chey later said, during the appeals trial, that he had made a wrong decision and “deeply regretted everything.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
I’ve never heard him say that he regretted having Trump on.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Gingersnipes’s eyes moved over all the parts of him he worked so hard to hide, and he very nearly regretted this decision.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Coady-McCombs said she had heard of customers regretting taking part in the bottomless sessions after feeling pressured by friends.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
“I don’t think anyone is regretting the wars, but maybe we’ll be sorry we didn’t do more,” Winner said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
"I think they're regretting not making it happen now."
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
As in the less conclusive first season, it feels engineered to deliver the characters to happy, or relatively happy, endings, and to send viewers out not regretting their investment of time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
I’m regretting saying yes to this mentorship program.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
