1
as in heartbroken
expressing or suggesting mourning
gave me a regretful look when I told him we had to move my mother to a nursing home
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sorry
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
was truly regretful that she had yelled at him
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of regretful
He's earned this opportunity by growing into what appears to be a good young man after being, like many of us, a youth full of regretful decisions.
—
Phil Hay, The Athletic, 3 Aug. 2024
Neither damning nor satiric, W. is oddly wistful, almost regretful — rare sentiments in a Stone film.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024
The r/Anxiety subreddit is filled with folks who report feeling panicky, empty, regretful, or guilty as day transitions to night.
—Lauren Mazzo, SELF, 16 Oct. 2024
The irony is that songwriter Ezra Koenig and his buddies can’t relinquish memories, which inform, on the transportive B-side, the most somber, regretful music of their career.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for regretful 
Phil Hay, The Athletic, 3 Aug. 2024
Neither damning nor satiric, W. is oddly wistful, almost regretful — rare sentiments in a Stone film.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024
The r/Anxiety subreddit is filled with folks who report feeling panicky, empty, regretful, or guilty as day transitions to night.
—Lauren Mazzo, SELF, 16 Oct. 2024
The irony is that songwriter Ezra Koenig and his buddies can’t relinquish memories, which inform, on the transportive B-side, the most somber, regretful music of their career.
—Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for regretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for regretful
Adjective
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Boldt hired 300 workers to construct the six-story, 120-room castle outfitted with a drawbridge and tower, but when Louise died suddenly in 1904, the heartbroken Boldt halted construction and never returned to the island.—
Gulnaz Khan,
AFAR Media,
13 Feb. 2025
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There are similar Valentine’s Day opportunities geared toward the heartbroken.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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There was that whole affair in season 1, which ended in murder — sorry, Adam (Peter Gadiot) — and there have been a number of secrets, and not just about book clubs.—
Samantha Highfill,
EW.com,
14 Feb. 2025
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This is not the time for anyone to be feeling sorry for themselves.—
James Pearce,
The Athletic,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Outwardly glassy but mournful on the inside, the film is a fairly overt expression of grief — one that’s even more acute coming out just a year after 9/11.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
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Sunday's mournful cowboy funeral is attended only by his family, the bunkhouse crew, and three close friends.—
Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez,
The Indianapolis Star,
18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Patrick Mahomes was ashamed of his spike attempt, too.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
30 Jan. 2025
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This tender moment is just more proof that even the toughest-looking guys in sports aren't ashamed of the sensitive side their kids bring out, and might actually be eager to show the world how much their families mean to them, on and off the field.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
The victim's mother told the Daily Mail the teen does not appear to be remorseful.—
Christina Coulter,
Fox News,
17 Jan. 2025
-
At the climax, amid a flood of family histrionics, our eyes sought out Hortense, sitting on the sidelines, stricken with remorseful silence.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Their son Donny attended to all of the funeral arrangements with the help of his wife Jan, a nurse, and his daughters Andrea and Alicia.—
Phil Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
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Soon after the crash, West Marin Community Services co-organized an online fundraiser to assist Romo Zúñiga’s family with the funeral and medical expenses.—
Cameron Macdonald,
The Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The driver is apologetic but doesn’t budge, video shows.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
28 Jan. 2025
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Ricky must learn how to set his own schedule, something the constantly late and often apologetic man can’t seem to get a handle on.—
Matthew Creith,
IndieWire,
27 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Regretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/regretful. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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