Library / English Dictionary

REGRET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: regretted    , regretting   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment

Example:

to his rue, the error cost him the game

Synonyms:

regret; rue; ruefulness; sorrow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("regret" is a kind of...):

sadness; unhappiness (emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "regret"):

attrition; contriteness; contrition (sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation)

compunction; remorse; self-reproach (a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed))

Derivation:

regret (express with regret)

regret (feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about)

regret (feel sad about the loss or absence of)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Express with regret

Example:

I regret to say that you did not gain admission to Harvard

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "regret" is one way to...):

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Verb group:

regret (decline formally or politely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "regret"):

fear (be sorry; used to introduce an unpleasant statement)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Derivation:

regret (sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Decline formally or politely

Example:

I regret I can't come to the party

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "regret" is one way to...):

decline; refuse (show unwillingness towards)

Verb group:

regret (express with regret)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sense 3

Meaning:

Feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about

Synonyms:

regret; repent; rue

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "regret" is one way to...):

experience; feel (undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Sentence example:

They regret to move

Derivation:

regret (sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Feel sad about the loss or absence of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "regret" is one way to...):

miss (feel or suffer from the lack of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

regret (sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment)

Credits

 Context examples: 

So they did, but their mistake was in ceasing to do well, and they learned this lesson through much anxiety and regret.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“I could pass my life here,” said he to me; “and among these mountains I should scarcely regret Switzerland and the Rhine.”

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

This was a lucky recollection—it saved her from something very like regret.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I leave no one to regret me much: I have only a father; and he is lately married, and will not miss me.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But Silver, from the other boat, looked sharply over and called out to know if that were me; and from that moment I began to regret what I had done.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

This made the Tin Woodman very unhappy, for he was always careful not to hurt any living creature; and as he walked along he wept several tears of sorrow and regret.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Try not to get so upset that you say things you’ll later regret, especially if the person is important to you.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I regret it, nephew, but I do not think that you are destined to attain that position which I have a right to expect from my blood relation.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He much regretted that any personal bias should have been read into his remarks, which were entirely dictated by his desire for scientific truth.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He shook his head sadly, and with a look of poignant regret on his face.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)