regret
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.
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
1synonym study For regret
Other words for regret
Opposites for regret
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 | FortuneIn 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 ReviewXu’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 ReviewThe 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 HubIt 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 BEASTScalise has called the talk, which he delivered in a hotel outside New Orleans, “a mistake I regret.”
And his understandable expressions of regret—now that his book is tanking—come as too little, too late.
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 BEASTTrierweiler 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 BEASTThat 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. DunnNever 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. BallantyneShe 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. DunnI 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 FayThe 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
/ (rɪˈɡrɛt) /
(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
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
1usage For regret
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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