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

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

How to use regret in a sentence

So at the end of the book, when I give my 10 feline tips for living, I just say that if you can’t live as freely as cats, and most of us can’t, then by all means return to the human world of diversion without regret and stay in it.
Everything is awful. Here’s a Q&A with a philosopher about why cats rule. | Sean Illing | January 15, 2021 | Vox
Wallen’s voice is a brawny, raspy, twangy thing, but it’s the speed of his phrasing that gives his music its humanity, its sense of desire, and its sense of regret.
Morgan Wallen’s big moment feels about 19 songs too long | Chris Richards | January 14, 2021 | Washington Post
My only regrets are not keeping a journal or having the wherewithal to discover the practice of meditation under the sea.
How a Nuclear Submarine Officer Learned to Live in Tight Quarters - Issue 94: Evolving | Steve Weiner | December 30, 2020 | Nautilus
Because to me, you should look at problems from the standpoint of regret.
Cari Champion and Jemele Hill on the Bond That Brought Them Together | Joshua Eferighe | December 15, 2020 | Ozy
Sherman said his biggest regret is that reforms to the city’s community planning process that he ushered through City Hall weren’t adopted yet.
Politics Report: What the Dramatic Council President Contest Taught Us | Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts | December 12, 2020 | Voice of San Diego

Presumably to pursue a long career of regretting that he left a lead role on the best show on network television.
Life After TV Death: How Shows Like ‘Game of Thrones’ Kill Your Favorite Characters | Phillip Maciak | April 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It was, however, a colossal flop—critically and commercially—with Lynch later regretting sacrificing final cut.
Doomed Passion Projects of Hollywood: The Lost Classics of Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, and More | Marlow Stern | March 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It's better to regret not having kids then having them and regretting it.
Why I Choose to Be Child-Free: Readers Share Their Stories | Harry Siegel | February 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Madame and myself had just been regretting that we should have to pass the evening in this miserable hole of a town.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846 | Various
One day I will tell you the whole story, and you will see if I have reason for regretting the poor girl.
Camille (La Dame aux Camilias) | Alexandre Dumas, fils
Walter Fetherston was ever regretting his inability to put any of the confidential information he acquired into his books.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le Queux
Then, regretting the betrayal of his feelings, the young man relapsed into gloomy silence.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence | Eugne Sue
We conversed till towards evening, chiefly regretting the lot of the unhappy friends whom we were leaving behind us.
My Ten Years' Imprisonment | Silvio Pellico

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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