Regret
[rɪ'gret] or [rɪ'ɡrɛt]
Definition
(verb.) express with regret; 'I regret to say that you did not gain admission to Harvard'.
(verb.) decline formally or politely; 'I regret I can't come to the party'.
(verb.) feel sad about the loss or absence of.
Edited by Antony--From WordNet
Definition
(v.) Pain of mind on account of something done or experienced in the past, with a wish that it had been different; a looking back with dissatisfaction or with longing; grief; sorrow; especially, a mourning on account of the loss of some joy, advantage, or satisfaction.
(v.) Dislike; aversion.
(v. t.) To experience regret on account of; to lose or miss with a sense of regret; to feel sorrow or dissatisfaction on account of (the happening or the loss of something); as, to regret an error; to regret lost opportunities or friends.
Editor: Pasquale
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Grief, sorrow.[2]. Penitence, compunction, remorse, repentance, contrition.
v. a. [1]. Lament, grieve at, be sorry for.[2]. Repent, repent of.
Editor: Rochelle
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Grieve, lament, repent, miss, desiderate, deplore
ANT:Welcome, hail, approve, abandon, abjure, forget, disregard
SYN:Sorrow, grief, concern, remorse, lamentation, repentance,[See GRIEF]
Inputed by Katherine
Definition
v.t. to grieve at: to remember with sorrow:—pr.p. regret′ting; pa.t. and pa.p. regret′ted.—n. sorrow for anything: concern: remorse: a written expression of regret.—adj. Regret′ful full of regret.—adv. Regret′fully.—adj. Regret′table.—adv. Regret′tably.
Edited by Enrico
Unserious Contents or Definition
An excuse for non-attendance at a social function. Occasionally, an expression of sorrow; usually, a paean of praise at deliverance from evil.
Editor: Timmy
Examples
- His mother left the room; then, moved by insupportable regret, I just murmured the words Dr. Bretton. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- There could be but one suitable reply to your assertion, Mr. Clayton, she said icily, and I regret that I am not a man, that I might make it. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- I would not tell him that I thought him dying, so I expressed my regret that he had not written to me when he was so ill. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Well, I have twice done you a wrong which I regret now. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- I declare you're enough to make one regret ever having had a family at all. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- But it was a truism, a phantom, and broke down under the weight of her regret. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- Trust me again, and you will never have cause to regret it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- What chiefly surprised Edmund was, that Crawford's sister, the friend and companion who had been so much to her, should not be more visibly regretted. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- My papa lived to bail Mr. Micawber several times, and then expired, regretted by a numerous circle. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- I have much regretted our having so little opportunity for conversation when we last met. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- He regretted it, I am sure; he values the hours spent with you. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- He politely offered me his private box for Livius's night, and regretted that it was not a better one. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- She spoke with difficulty, and I perceived that she regretted the necessity of death, even more than she cared to confess. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- I gave Lucy in charge to the Countess's attendant, and then sought repose from my various struggles and impatient regrets. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life become a beautiful success, in spite of poverty. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Thoughtfully, for I could not be here once more, and so near Agnes, without the revival of those regrets with which I had so long been occupied. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- Then comes remorse, with all its vipers, mixed with vain regrets for the past, and despair for the future! Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Your feelings are as well known to me as my wishes and regrets must be to you. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- When standing before certain men the philosopher regrets that thinkers are but perishable tissue, the artist that perishable tissue has to think. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- I think it is one's function as a medical man to hinder regrets of that sort as far as possible. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Regretting that all my efforts for alleviating the sufferings of wounded men left upon the battle-field have been rendered nugatory, I remain, &c. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- She went on, began to talk of you; yes, then she began to talk of you, regretting, as well she might, the loss of such a--. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- Robert Jordan asked, regretting it as he said it. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- If he is satisfied with only regretting me, when he might have obtained my affections and hand, I shall soon cease to regret him at all. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- The soil is good; and I never pass it without regretting that the fruit should be so little worth the trouble of gathering. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- But she had chosen it with her eyes open; and though evidently regretting that her visitors were to go, she did not seem to ask for compassion. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- Before you came I had been regretting that you happened to be out to-day. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
Editor: Randolph