regretful.

Feeling sorry or disappointed about something that happened or did not happen.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a regretful smile
• a regretful acknowledgment

On the page

A regretful smile was all she offered when he asked why she had not stayed.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more regretful; superlative most regretful when comparison is meaningful. 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. Writing functions: description, character. Commonness: moderately common.