regret

[ ri-gret ]

See synonyms for: regret regrets regretted regretting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),re·gret·ted, re·gret·ting.

to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment, etc.): He no sooner spoke than he regretted it.
to think of with a sense of loss: to regret one's vanished youth.

noun

a sense of loss, disappointment, dissatisfaction, etc.
a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, disappointment, etc.

regrets, a polite, usually formal refusal of an invitation: I sent her my regrets.
a note expressing regret at one's inability to accept an invitation: I have had four acceptances and one regret.

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. greet²)

synonym study For regret

4. 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 words for regret

1	deplore, lament, bewail, bemoan, mourn, sorrow, grieve

See synonyms for regret on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for regret

1	rejoice
4	joy

See antonyms for regret on Thesaurus.com

Other words from regret

re·gret·ter, noun
re·gret·ting·ly, adverb
un·re·gret·ted, adjective
un·re·gret·ting, adjective

Words Nearby regret

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use regret in a sentence

The 42 pages chronicle their approximately two-month long romance, including a letter of regret for breaking up sent a year later.
The Notorious B.I.G.’s crown and Tupac’s love letters are going to auction at Sotheby’s | radmarya | August 25, 2020 | Fortune
In a later recounting of the story, Xu’s father said his greatest regret was asking the police whether they might still recover their money.
Podcast: Want consumer privacy? Try China | Michael Reilly | August 19, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Xu’s father later said his greatest regret was asking the officer whether they might still get their money back.
Inside China’s unexpected quest to protect data privacy | Tate Ryan-Mosley | August 19, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
The higher the regret, the higher the chance of choosing that action next time.
The Deck Is Not Rigged: Poker and the Limits of AI | Maria Konnikova | August 7, 2020 | Singularity Hub
It includes an algorithm called the Monte Carlo Counterfactual regret Minimization, which evaluates all future actions to figure out which one would cause the least amount of regret.
The Deck Is Not Rigged: Poker and the Limits of AI | Maria Konnikova | August 7, 2020 | Singularity Hub

Like his old man, he keeps it reined in, but when talking about fishing, a true regret seeps out.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Scalise has called the talk, which he delivered in a hotel outside New Orleans, “a mistake I regret.”
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise | Jason Berry | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
And his understandable expressions of regret—now that his book is tanking—come as too little, too late.
The Bloodiest Media Coups of 2014 | Lloyd Grove | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The report said the CIA expressed regret for not ultimately punishing him.
CIA Interrogation Chief: ‘Rectal Feeding,’ Broken Limbs Are News to Me | Kimberly Dozier | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Trierweiler has also expressed regret over the tweet in a recent interview with the U.K. Observer.
Hell Hath No Fury Like Valerie Trierweiler, the French President’s Ex | Lizzie Crocker | November 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
That Lawrence, whom he looked upon almost as a son, should take up arms against the South was to him a source of endless regret.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn
Never before in human experience had such a display of kindly feeling and profound regret been witnessed in similar circumstances.
The Giant of the North | R.M. Ballantyne
She abruptly turned and went into the house, and much to Lawrence's regret he did not see her again.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn
I rather regret now that I did not play my solos, but perhaps it is just as well to leave them until another time.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy Fay
The little glimpse of domestic harmony which had been offered her, gave her no regret, no longing.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin

British Dictionary definitions for regret

regret

/ (rɪˈɡrɛt) /

verb-grets, -gretting or -gretted (tr)

(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to feel sorry, repentant, or upset about
to bemoan or grieve the death or loss of

noun

a sense of repentance, guilt, or sorrow, as over some wrong done or an unfulfilled ambition
a sense of loss or grief

(plural) a polite expression of sadness, esp in a formal refusal of an invitation

Origin of regret

C14: from Old French regrete, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse grāta to weep

usage For regret

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

Derived forms of regret

regretful, adjective
regretfully, adverb
regretfulness, noun
regrettable, adjective
regrettably, adverb
regretter, 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

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