remorseful.

Feeling deep regret because you believe you have done something wrong.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• remorseful apology
• remorseful reflection

On the page

His remorseful letter arrived too late to change her decision.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more remorseful; superlative most remorseful 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. Commonness: moderately common.