REGRET (regretted, regretting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: regretted    , regretting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does regret mean? 

• REGRET (noun)
  The noun REGRET has 1 sense:

1. sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment

  Familiarity information: REGRET used as a noun is very rare.

• REGRET (verb)
  The verb REGRET has 4 senses:

1. feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about

2. feel sad about the loss or absence of

3. decline formally or politely

4. express with regret

  Familiarity information: REGRET used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REGRET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

regret; rue; ruefulness; sorrow

Context example:

to his rue, the error cost him the game

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)

• REGRET (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they regret    ... he / she / it regrets   
Past simple: regretted   
Past participle: regretted   
-ing form: regretting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

regret; repent; rue

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 2

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Decline formally or politely

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

I regret I can't come to the party

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 4

Meaning:

Express with regret

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

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

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)

 Context examples 

Mr. Price was out, which she regretted very much.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Not that you have any reason to regret, my dear Elinor.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Mr. Perry might have reason to regret the alteration, but nobody else could.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

If you deal fair with us you’ll not regret it, but if you try any tricks, God help you!’

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But one regret she voiced in the whole letter, and it was a bitter one to Martin.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

“I regret that I have kept you waiting,” said I, sitting down in my library-chair.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And looked back, with fond regret, to the bustles of Uppercross and the seclusion of Kellynch.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

In a word, we departed to the regret and admiration of all concerned, and left a great many people very sorry behind US.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But she would not express either surprise or regret over the fate of Oldacre.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It appeared that Blaize Castle had never been thought of; and, as for all the rest, there was nothing to regret for half an instant.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)