regretful, regrettable

regretful, regrettable
Regretful means "sorrowful," "filled with sorrow or regret": "I am regretful that I cannot accept your invitation." Regrettable means "deserving sorrow or regret" and is applied to situations or events that elicit a sense of loss, distress, or longing: "Your failure to write an apology is regrettable." In ordinary usage, a person is regretful, an event or condition is regrettable: "The culprit should be regretful for his regrettable act."

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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

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

  • 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

  • regrettable — adjective Of an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret. His painting his name of my car was more than regrettable, it was criminal. See Also: regret, regrettably, regretter, regretful, regretfulness, regretfully …   Wiktionary

  • rueful — Synonyms and related words: addicted, affecting, afflictive, aggrieved, anguished, ashamed, bitter, bleak, careworn, cheerless, comfortless, conscience smitten, conscience stricken, deplorable, depressed, depressing, depressive, despairing,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • shameful — Synonyms and related words: aberrant, abnormal, abominable, arrant, ashamed, atrocious, awful, bad, base, beastly, beneath contempt, beneath one, black, blamable, blameworthy, brutal, chastening, cheap, conscience smitten, conscience stricken,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • sorrowful — Synonyms and related words: Jeremianic, affecting, afflicted, afflictive, aggrieved, anguished, bitter, bleak, blue, careworn, cheerless, comfortless, complaining, crestfallen, dejected, deplorable, depressed, depressing, depressive,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • terrible — Synonyms and related words: aberrant, abnormal, abominable, acute, alarming, appalling, arduous, arrant, ashamed, astounding, atrocious, awe inspiring, awesome, awful, bad, baneful, base, beastly, beneath contempt, blameworthy, brutal,… …   Moby Thesaurus

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