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rue

1
[ roo ]
/ ru /
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See synonyms for: rue / rued on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), rued, ru·ing.
to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly: to rue the loss of opportunities.
to wish that (something) had never been done, taken place, etc.: I rue the day he was born.
verb (used without object), rued, ru·ing.
to feel sorrow, repentance, or regret.
noun
sorrow; repentance; regret.
pity or compassion.
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Origin of rue

1
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

OTHER WORDS FROM rue

ruer, nounun·rued, adjective

Other definitions for rue (2 of 2)

rue2
[ roo ]
/ ru /
noun
any strongly scented plant of the genus Ruta, especially R. graveolens, having yellow flowers and leaves formerly used in medicine.
Compare rue family.

Origin of rue

2
1350–1400; Middle English <Middle French <Latin rūta<Greek rhȳtḗ
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to rue

mourn, deplore, grieve, lament, apologize, kick oneself

How to use rue in a sentence

  • Never in his life Rolf forgot that sight, which few men had seen without ruing it, of Grettir angry and ready for the fray.

    The Story of Rolf and the Viking's Bow|Allen French

  • All she there told him, ruing death for friend so young, algate sore unwilling God's rightwiseness to withsay.

    Ulysses|James Joyce

  • Lilly, too, would be sitting there some day, bitterly ruing her lost youth as one regrets an act of criminal folly.

    The Song of Songs|Hermann Sudermann

  • And who was this inhuman being calling God's property his own, and ruing it as he would not have dared to use a beast?

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 3 of 4|American Anti-Slavery Society

British Dictionary definitions for rue (1 of 2)

rue1
/ (ruː) /
verb rues, ruing or rued
to feel sorrow, remorse, or regret for (one's own wrongdoing, past events with unpleasant consequences, etc)
noun
archaic sorrow, pity, or regret

Derived forms of rue

ruer, noun

Word Origin for rue

Old English hrēowan; related to Old Saxon hreuwan, Old High German hriuwan

British Dictionary definitions for rue (2 of 2)

rue2
/ (ruː) /
noun
any rutaceous plant of the genus Ruta, esp R. graveolens, an aromatic Eurasian shrub with small yellow flowers and evergreen leaves which yield an acrid volatile oil, formerly used medicinally as a narcotic and stimulantArchaic name: herb of grace Compare goat's-rue, meadow rue, wall rue

Word Origin for rue

C14: from Old French, from Latin rūta, from Greek rhutē
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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