sorry
feeling regret, compunction, sympathy, pity, etc.: to be sorry to leave one's friends; to be sorry for a remark; to be sorry for someone in trouble.
regrettable or deplorable; unfortunate; tragic: a sorry situation; to come to a sorry end.
sorrowful, grieved, or sad: Was she sorry when her brother died?
associated with sorrow; suggestive of grief or suffering; melancholy; dismal.
wretched, poor, useless, or pitiful: a sorry horse.
(used as a conventional apology or expression of regret): Sorry, you're misinformed. Did I bump you? Sorry.
Origin of sorry
1synonym study For sorry
word story For sorry
There is no etymological connection between sār, sārig and Old English sorh, sorg “care, anxiety” (English sorrow ), which is akin to German Sorge “care, anxiety.” But even in Old English times, there was the semantic connection of “suffering” between sār, sārig and sorh, sorg. The Middle English change of sārig to sōri, then to sori (the change of long o in sōri to the short o in sori is due to the influence of the noun sorrowe ), and the Middle English change of sorh, sorg to sorye, soro, sorrowe created a close formal resemblance between sārig (in one Middle English spelling sori ) and sorh, sorg (in the Middle English spellings sorye, soro, sorrowe ), and sorrow has influenced the meaning of sorry ever since.
Other words for sorry
1 | regretful, sympathetic, pitying |
3 | unhappy, depressed, sorrowing |
4 | grievous, mournful, painful |
5 | abject, contemptible, paltry, worthless, shabby |
Opposites for sorry
Other words from sorry
- sor·ri·ly, adverb
- sor·ri·ness, noun
- un·sor·ry, adjective
Words Nearby sorry
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sorry in a sentence
In discussing his two leading characters, he has said, “I didn’t want us to feel sorry for them.”
Lesbian love story becomes thriller in ‘Two of Us’ | John Paul King | February 4, 2021 | Washington BladeI’m even more sorry to report that Val Curtis, the British hygiene scholar we interviewed, died in October.
We are truly sorry, but unfortunately, the vaccine supply is not under our control.
How Operation Warp Speed Created Vaccination Chaos | by Caroline Chen, Isaac Arnsdorf and Ryan Gabrielson | January 19, 2021 | ProPublicaTo account for travel restrictions between the United States and Canada, the North Division — sorry, the Scotia North Division — is composed of the league’s seven Canadian teams.
What you may have missed in the Caps’ offseason, and what experts predict for this season | Scott Allen | January 14, 2021 | Washington PostTo attend and then leave, it is, “I’m sorry, I have to go now.”
Miss Manners: What to tell artist friends, besides ‘That’s pretty!’ | Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin | January 11, 2021 | Washington Post
Its biggest asset, of course, is the steely Atwell, who never asks you to feel sorry for Carter despite all the sexism around her.
So she lies to the knight, telling him Madalena is sorry and wants him back.
I am so sorry that your parents did this to you, developing their own discriminatory take on your existence.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“sorry I can't give you more, but at this time our office has no comment,” his spokesman, Sergio Gor, said.
Presidential Hopeful Rand Paul Backs Obama on Cuba Deal | Olivia Nuzzi | December 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“I feel sorry for what she did to Russ and his daughter,” Gill said.
Bernard was uncomfortable enough not to care to be mocked; but he felt even more sorry that Gordon should be.
Confidence | Henry James"I will," gruffly replied the man, with a look which showed that he was sorry to be forced to choose the second alternative.
He felt very sorry for the Temecula people, the sheriff did; but he had to obey the law himself.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson"I am sorry," she replied instead, not saying a word about the poor little toes which the pretty pink lady had crushed.
Rosemary in Search of a Father | C. N. WilliamsonMeanwhile, as you may well believe, he began to feel very sorry that he had said anything about the verses.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. Carryl
British Dictionary definitions for sorry
/ (ˈsɒrɪ) /
(usually postpositive often foll by for) feeling or expressing pity, sympathy, remorse, grief, or regret: I feel sorry for him
pitiful, wretched, or deplorable: a sorry sight
poor; paltry: a sorry excuse
affected by sorrow; sad
causing sorrow or sadness
an exclamation expressing apology, used esp at the time of the misdemeanour, offence, etc
Origin of sorry
1Derived forms of sorry
- sorrily, adverb
- sorriness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with sorry
see better safe than sorry.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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