1
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
the rueful faces of friends and family who had gathered to pay their last respects
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sorry
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
a rueful youth who had come to ask for forgiveness for online bullying
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pitiful
deserving of one's pity
the rueful, desperate poverty of people in parts of the Third World
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rueful
But most of my friends grimace and then, after a rueful joke, move on to other topics.
—
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
The book also has a complicated, somewhat rueful take on race.
—Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024
Arrogantly rueful, Hartnett’s vicious killer has a flair for the dramatic, revealing, in the film’s final throes, to lead a semi-charmed kinda life.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 4 Sep. 2024
Bank’s wry, matter-of-fact tone makes the stories’ many rueful asides, exquisitely funny similes and snappy one-liners all the more effective.
—Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post, 22 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for rueful 
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
The book also has a complicated, somewhat rueful take on race.
—Charles McGrath, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2024
Arrogantly rueful, Hartnett’s vicious killer has a flair for the dramatic, revealing, in the film’s final throes, to lead a semi-charmed kinda life.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 4 Sep. 2024
Bank’s wry, matter-of-fact tone makes the stories’ many rueful asides, exquisitely funny similes and snappy one-liners all the more effective.
—Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post, 22 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for rueful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rueful
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
-
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
-
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
-
Who knew that banning books, paying teachers pitiful salaries and threatening them with jail if they were caught with salacious book titles would be the holy grail of student success?—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Feb. 2025
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Who knew that banning books, paying teachers pitiful salaries and threatening them with jail if they were caught with salacious book titles would be the holy grail of student success.—
Letters to the Editor,
Orlando Sentinel,
6 Feb. 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
-
Patrick Mahomes was ashamed of his spike attempt, too.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
30 Jan. 2025
-
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
-
In a bravura theatrical performance, Hawke makes the genius truly pathetic.—
Stephanie Bunbury,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2025
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Blonsky imbues the lead character of Tracy Turnblad, who could be a pathetic figure in lesser hands, with enough vitality to make the whole film feel fresh, even close to two decades after its release.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
15 Feb. 2025
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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The victim's mother told the Daily Mail the teen does not appear to be remorseful.—
Christina Coulter,
Fox News,
17 Jan. 2025
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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
Thesaurus Entries Near rueful
Cite this Entry
“Rueful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rueful. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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