regretful

regretful
regretful 1640s, “full of regret,” from REGRET (Cf. regret) + -FUL (Cf. -ful). Regretfully incorrectly used in place of regrettably since at least 1965. “A regrettable use, prob. after HOPEFULLY” [OED].

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • regretful — regretful, regrettable Regretful means ‘feeling regret’ and applies to a person, whereas regrettable means ‘causing regret’ and applies to an action: • He did not crave recognition, but was understandably regretful about his lack of it E.… …   Modern English usage

  • Regretful — Re*gret ful ( f?l), a. Full of regret; indulging in regrets; repining. {Re*gret ful*ly}, adv. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • regretful — index contrite, penitent, remorseful, repentant Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • regretful — [adj] sad, sorry apologetic, ashamed, attritional, compunctious, contrite, disappointed, mournful, penitent, remorseful, repentant, rueful, sorrowful; concept 403 Ant. content, happy, not guilty, satisfied …   New thesaurus

  • regretful — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ feeling or showing regret. DERIVATIVES regretfulness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • regretful — [[t]rɪgre̱tfʊl[/t]] ADJ GRADED: oft ADJ about n, ADJ that If you are regretful, you show that you regret something. Mr Griffin gave a regretful smile... Surprisingly, she didn t feel nervous, or regretful about her actions. Derived words:… …   English dictionary

  • regretful — re|gret|ful [rıˈgretfəl] adj someone who is regretful feels sorry or disappointed ▪ She apologized and sounded genuinely regretful …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • regretful — See regretful, regrettable …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • regretful — re|gret|ful [ rı gretfl ] adjective sad or sorry: George sounded a little regretful that he hadn t been there …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • regretful — adjective feeling or showing regret: Shannon shook her head with a regretful smile. Derivatives regretfulness noun …   English new terms dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”