regret.

Sadness about something done, missed, or lost, often with a wish that it had been different.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• express regret
• lasting regret

On the page

Her lasting regret was not asking the question sooner.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Countable or uncountable by context; countable singular regret; plural regrets. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.