rue
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly.
to rue the loss of opportunities.
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to wish that (something) had never been done, taken place, etc..
I rue the day he was born.
verb (used without object)
noun
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sorrow; repentance; regret.
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pity or compassion.
noun
verb
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ruesimple
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ruessimple
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have ruedperfect
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has ruedperfect
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am ruingprogressive
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are ruingprogressive
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is ruingprogressive
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have been ruingperfect progressive
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has been ruingperfect progressive
Past
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ruedsimple
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had ruedperfect
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was ruingprogressive
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were ruingprogressive
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had been ruingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rue1
before 900; (v.) Middle English ruen, rewen, Old English hrēowan; cognate with Dutch rouwen, German reuen; (noun) Middle English rewe, reowe, Old English hrēow; cognate with Dutch rouw, German Reue; cf. ruth
Origin of rue2
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin rūta < Greek rhȳtḗ
Explanation
To rue is to feel regret or remorse for something. If that position at the deli ended up involving a reality TV show that made everyone famous, you may rue the day you turned down the job. Rue comes from the Old English word hreowan, meaning "to make sorry," and rue can still sum up a lot of sorrow in one small syllable. Shakespeare made the word famous in phrases like "rue the hour" and "rue the time," meaning you bitterly regret a moment, but did not use the exact phrase "rue the day" which actually occurs in Christopher Marlowe's play Tamburlaine the Great. Another common meaning of rue refers to a strong-scented herb often used for medicinal purposes back in the day. A lot of written works make puns where the plant alludes to sorrow and pain.
Vocabulary lists containing rue
The Tragedy of Macbeth
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 1
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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:
A couple of panelists rue the seeming lack of attention paid to “Murdaugh: Death in the Family,” touting Oscar and two-time Emmy winner Patricia Arquette.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
This decision will find an echo in “King Lear”; Lear, too, cites his age when giving the power to rule his kingdom to his daughters, and both characters live to rue their choices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Up ahead, Schauffele set the clubhouse target at 11 under, while MacIntyre was left to rue an errant shot on the 16th.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
Many MSs rue the fact that, unlike Scotland or the Crown Dependencies, the Welsh Assembly does not have the power to introduce its own assisted dying law.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
He hurries down through the lobby and paces the rue des Forgeurs, then the rue de Dinan.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Until that point, Skye rues that she had lived like an adult since childhood, the inevitable consequence of entering Hollywood as an adolescent and lacking conventional parental guidance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025
Having expressed happiness that he and Erica were back together by the time that major was played, it also becomes abundantly clear that McIlroy still rues his capitulation at that event in North Carolina.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2025
He rues that these expected opportunities have eluded him.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 2, 2022
Rory McIlroy still rues a 3-foot birdie putt he missed on the 17th hole in the opening round in 2010.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2022
"Les canons grondent dans les rues, monsieur" was the remark of the porter, as I passed out into the street next morning.
From A Residence in France With an Excursion Up the Rhine, and a Second Visit to Switzerland by Cooper, James Fenimore
“MTV is going off the air at midnight tonight . . . man. There was a time when MTV was THE channel to be watching on New Year’s Eve,” rued one Bluesky user.
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2026
In a speech in November 1992, Queen Elizabeth II rued the previous 12 months as an annus horribilis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
South African skipper Donovan Ferreira rued batting failure.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025
Ireland captain Caelan Doris, who was denied an early try when he was held up by Gregory Alldritt, rued his side's ill-discipline with Joe McCarthy and Calvin Nash both sin-binned.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2025
The authorities rued the fact that they had allowed us study privileges, and Badenhorst was determined to rectify that mistake.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Even a day and a win later, the Lakers were still ruing Thursday’s road loss in Denver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2026
Alexander-Arnold curled a free-kick wide as the clock ticked down and it looked like Madrid were left ruing two points dropped, when the third was taken away from them too.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
Salt's dismissal left England 60-3 in the seventh over and they never really recovered, with many left batters left ruing some loose dismissals.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023
They outspent labor by 6 to 1 — a gap the unions may be ruing.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 7, 2023
The Pioneer Press quotes Secretary of HUD Andrew Cuomo ruing the “cruel irony” that prosperity is shrinking the stock of affordable housing nationwide: “The stronger the economy, the stronger the upward pressure on rents.”
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
