rueful

[ roo-fuhl ]

/ ˈru fəl /

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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.

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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, adverbrue·ful·ness, nounhalf-rue·ful, adjectiveun·rue·ful, adjective

un·rue·ful·ness, noun

Words nearby rueful

Rudy, Rudyard, rue, rue anemone, rue family, rueful, ruefully, Rufen, rufescent, ruff, ruffe

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|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|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|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|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|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 repentancea rueful face

inspiring sorrow or pity

Derived forms of rueful

ruefully, adverbruefulness, 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

rueful

Origin of rueful

OTHER WORDS FROM rueful

Words nearby rueful

Words related to rueful

How to use rueful in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rueful

Derived forms of rueful