regret
Use Regret in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment, etc.): He no sooner spoke than he regretted it.
2.
to think of with a sense of loss: to regret one's vanished youth.
noun
3.
a sense of loss, disappointment, dissatisfaction, etc.
4.
a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, disappointment, etc.
5.
regrets, a polite, usually formal refusal of an invitation: I sent her my regrets.
6.
a note expressing regret at one's inability to accept an invitation: I have had four acceptances and one regret.
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Regret
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English regretten (v.) < Middle French regreter, Old French, equivalent to re- re- + -greter, perhaps < Germanic (cf. greet2)
1300–50; Middle English regretten (v.) < Middle French regreter, Old French, equivalent to re- re- + -greter, perhaps < Germanic (cf. greet2)
Related forms
re·gret·ter, noun
re·gret·ting·ly, adverb
un·re·gret·ted, adjective
un·re·gret·ting, adjective
Synonyms
1. deplore, lament, bewail, bemoan, mourn, sorrow, grieve. Regret, penitence, remorse imply a sense of sorrow about events in the past, usually wrongs committed or errors made. Regret is distress of mind, sorrow for what has been done or failed to be done: to have no regrets. Penitence implies a sense of sin or misdoing, a feeling of contrition and determination not to sin again: a humble sense of penitence. Remorse implies pangs, qualms of conscience, a sense of guilt, regret, and repentance for sins committed, wrongs done, or duty not performed: a deep sense of remorse.
1. deplore, lament, bewail, bemoan, mourn, sorrow, grieve. Regret, penitence, remorse imply a sense of sorrow about events in the past, usually wrongs committed or errors made. Regret is distress of mind, sorrow for what has been done or failed to be done: to have no regrets. Penitence implies a sense of sin or misdoing, a feeling of contrition and determination not to sin again: a humble sense of penitence. Remorse implies pangs, qualms of conscience, a sense of guilt, regret, and repentance for sins committed, wrongs done, or duty not performed: a deep sense of remorse.
Antonyms
1. rejoice. 4. joy.
1. rejoice. 4. joy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To regret
Collins
World English Dictionary
regret (rɪˈɡrɛt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , -grets, -gretting, -gretted | |
| 1. | (may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to feel sorry, repentant, or upset about |
| 2. | to bemoan or grieve the death or loss of |
| —n | |
| 3. | a sense of repentance, guilt, or sorrow, as over some wrong done or an unfulfilled ambition |
| 4. | a sense of loss or grief |
| 5. | (plural) a polite expression of sadness, esp in a formal refusal of an invitation |
| [C14: from Old French regrete, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse grāta to weep] | |
| usage Regretful and regretfully are sometimes wrongly used where regrettable and regrettably are meant: he gave a regretful smile; he smiled regretfully; this is a regrettable (not regretful) mistake; regrettably (not regretfully), I shall be unable to attend | |
| re'gretful | |
| —adj | |
| re'gretfully | |
| —adv | |
| re'gretfulness | |
| —n | |
| re'grettable | |
| —adj | |
| re'grettably | |
| —adv | |
| re'gretter | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
regret
"to remember with distress or longing," c.1300, from O.Fr. regreter "long after, bewail, lament someone's death," from re-, intensive prefix + -greter, possibly from Frankish (cf. O.E. grætan "to weep;" O.N. grata "to weep, groan"), from P.Gmc. *gretan "weep." Replaced O.E. ofþyncan, from
of- "off, away," here denoting opposition + þyncan "seem, seem fit" (as in methinks). The noun is first recorded 1533. Regretfully incorrectly in place of regrettably is attested from 1976.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It suggests satisfaction, rather than regret or loss or sorrow.
She shares her regret for having dropped out of school in the eighth grade.
Such was his later regret about his student indifference.
In the years since, deep regret has set in and the longing for a culinary connection with her has only intensified.
Nearby Words
Synonyms
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