easy
He felt regretful after speaking unkindly.
What does Regretful mean?
Regretful means feeling sorry about something.
Dictionary definition
Feeling sorry or sad about something that happened or about a choice that was made.
Example sentences
Regretful in a sentence
medium
The character's regretful note helped repair the friendship.
hard
A regretful tone can show that a narrator understands a mistake and wants to do better.
Writing practice
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Quick practice
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Practice the meaning of Regretful
Answer three quick questions about its meaning and related words.
Question 1 of 3
Practice 1
What does regretful mean?
The correct answer matches the meaning of regretful.
Practice 2
Which word is closest in meaning to regretful?
Sorry is close to regretful in this main meaning.
Practice 3
Choose the best word to complete the sentence: He felt ____ after speaking unkindly.
Regretful best completes the sentence.
Practice complete
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Pronunciation coach
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Regretful
Voice settings
Sounds like
ri · gret · ful · strongest beat: gret
Tap each sound part, then blend the whole word together.
Learn
WordRegretful.
Partadjective.
MeaningRegretful means feeling sorry about something.
ExampleExample: He felt regretful after speaking unkindly.
Word breakdown
3 syllables. Say each part, then blend the word.
- Syllables
- ri · gret · ful
- Strongest beat
- gret
- Ending
- ful
- Tip
- Put a little extra energy on gret.
Your turn
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Synonyms
Words like Regretful
sorryUse for feeling bad about a mistake.
remorsefulUse for feeling deep regret.
apologeticUse for showing that you are sorry.
Antonyms
Opposite words
proudA contrast for feeling pleased about an action.
unconcernedA contrast for not feeling sorry or worried.
Synonym practice
Want to practice regretful synonyms in context? Try a Synonym Search question like "The regretful student apologized for the mistake," then compare close word choices. Practice regretful synonyms.
Word family
Regretful word family
Base word
regretful
adverb
regretfully
In a regretful way.
noun
regret
A sad feeling about a choice.
verb
regretted
Felt sorry about in the past.
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