Definition of REGRET

regret

Plural: regrets

Noun

  • sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment
    • "he wrote a note expressing his regret"
  • Emotional pain 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.
  • Dislike; aversion.
  • The amount of avoidable loss that results from choosing the wrong action.
  • A person invited to an event who was unable to attend, but notified the organizer of this beforehand; a nonattendee.

Verb

Verb Forms: regretted, regretting, regrets

  • To feel sorrow, remorse, or disappointment over something.
  • feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about
  • feel sad about the loss or absence of
  • decline formally or politely
    • "I regret I can't come to the party"
  • express with regret
    • "I regret to say that you did not gain admission to Harvard"
  • To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead.
  • To feel sorry about (any thing).
  • To miss; to feel the loss or absence of; to mourn.

Examples

  • He regretted his words.
  • He would forever regret playing a vowel-heavy word when a Q-hook was available in Words With Friends.
  • I regret that I have to do this, but I don't have a choice.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English regretten, regreten, from Old French regreter, regrater (“to lament”), from re- (intensive prefix) + *greter, *grater (“to weep”), from Frankish *grātan (“to weep, mourn, lament”), from Proto-Germanic *grētaną (“to weep”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁d- (“to sound”); and Frankish *greutan (“to cry, weep”), from Proto-Germanic *greutaną (“to weep, cry”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- (“to weep, be sad”), equivalent to re- + greet. Cognate with Old High German grāzan (“to cry”), Old English grǣtan (“to weep, greet”), Old English grēotan (“to weep, lament”), Old Norse gráta (“to weep, groan”), Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (grētan, “to weep”). More at greet.

Scrabble Score: 7

regret: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
regret: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
regret: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

regret: valid Words With Friends Word