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[ri-gret] /rɪˈgrɛt/
verb (used with object), regretted, regretting.
to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment, etc.):
He no sooner spoke than he regretted it.
to think of with a sense of loss:
to regret one's vanished youth.
a sense of loss, disappointment, dissatisfaction, etc.
a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, disappointment, etc.
regrets, a polite, usually formal refusal of an invitation:
I sent her my regrets.
a note expressing regret at one's inability to accept an invitation:
I have had four acceptances and one regret.
Origin of regret
1300-50; Middle English regretten (v.) < Middle French regreter, Old French, equivalent to re- re- + -greter, perhaps < Germanic (cf. greet2)
Related forms
regretter, noun
regrettingly, adverb
unregretted, adjective
unregretting, adjective
Can be confused
begrudge, regret, resent (see synonym study at the current entry)
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. rejoice. 4. joy. Unabridged
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Examples from the web for regretting
  • If you can do grocery shopping while waiting for the next connection you may be regretting the buss coming so soon.
  • Some governments are now regretting their hands-off approach.
  • As long as you have the stuff and you're not regretting what happened on the set.
  • The more he submitted to it, the more wrong he chose to do, regretting it afterward because his heart knew it was wrong.
  • Some people may end up really regretting the way they're treating her.
  • From some twenty more letters regretting their inability to attend were received.
  • They said it in an absolutely admiring way, regretting that their side lacked leaders of equal competence.
British Dictionary definitions for regretting


verb (transitive) -grets, -gretting, -gretted
(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to feel sorry, repentant, or upset about
to bemoan or grieve the death or loss of
a sense of repentance, guilt, or sorrow, as over some wrong done or an unfulfilled ambition
a sense of loss or grief
(pl) a polite expression of sadness, esp in a formal refusal of an invitation
Derived Forms
regretful, adjective
regretfully, adverb
regretfulness, noun
regrettable, adjective
regrettably, adverb
regretter, noun
Usage note
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
Word Origin
C14: from Old French regrete, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse grāta to weep
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for regretting



"to look back with distress or sorrowful longing; to grieve for on remembering," late 14c., from Old French regreter "long after, bewail, lament someone's death; ask the help of" (Modern French regretter), from re-, intensive prefix (see re-), + -greter, possibly from Frankish or some other Germanic source (cf. Old English grætan "to weep;" Old Norse grata "to weep, groan"), from Proto-Germanic *gretan "weep." "Not found in other Romance languages, and variously explained" [Century Dictionary].

Related: Regretted; regretting. Replaced Old English ofþyncan, from of- "off, away," here denoting opposition, + þyncan "seem, seem fit" (as in methinks).


"pain or distress in the mind at something done or left undone," 1530s, from the verb, or from Middle French regret, back-formation from regreter (see regret (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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