rueful

[ roo-fuhl ]

See synonyms for: rueful ruefulness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

causing sorrow or pity; pitiable; deplorable: a rueful plight.
feeling, showing, or expressing sorrow, repentance, or regret: the rueful look on her face.

Origin of rueful

First recorded in 1175–1225, rueful is from the Middle English word reowful; see rue¹, -ful

Other words from rueful

rue·ful·ly, adverb
rue·ful·ness, noun
half-rue·ful, adjective
un·rue·ful, adjective
un·rue·ful·ness, noun

Words Nearby rueful

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

How to use rueful in a sentence

Then she paused, glanced away from the camera, and took a long, rueful breath.
YouTuber Valkyrae’s skincare fiasco proves online drama doesn’t produce accountability | Nathan Grayson | October 28, 2021 | Washington Post
rueful laughter from both men turned to thoughtfulness in Stittsworth.
The Strange, True Tale of the Old-Timey Goat Testicle-Implanting 'Governor' | Penny Lane | September 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
You can only ever see it from an outsider and comment on it with the rueful wisdom of a non participant.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Revealing Reddit AMA: On Julian Assange’s Letter and Fame | Marlow Stern | October 11, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
A discussion of a London cheese shop sends her into paroxysms of rueful joy.
Michelle Forbes' Good Grief | Jace Lacob | May 22, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
But most of them must be delivered from on the peninsula, where Bob is standing, casting a rueful eye on the whole show.
On the Peninsula | Bryan Curtis | April 25, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

“You can pick which lines can come out,” Spitzer said with a rueful smile.
Eliot Spitzer's Comeback Trail | Lloyd Grove | May 10, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Gwynne regarded the thin sole of his house shoe with so rueful a countenance that the judge laughed outright.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
Pale, lean, taciturn and somewhat deaf, he bore much resemblance to the Knight of the rueful Countenance.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
By this time he was in a wholly different mood; angry with himself, and full of rueful thought about his wife.
Marriage la mode | Mrs. Humphry Ward
At the rueful outcry, Clifford turned, just in time to see the bobbing bundle disappear in the muddy water.
A Fortune Hunter; Or, The Old Stone Corral | John Dunloe Carteret
In order to carry out my wife's orders, I had to disentangle Susan from Liosha's embrace and pack her off rueful to the nursery.
Jaffery | William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for rueful

rueful

/ (ˈruːfʊl) /

adjective

feeling or expressing sorrow or repentance: a rueful face
inspiring sorrow or pity

Derived forms of rueful

ruefully, adverb
ruefulness, 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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