Synonyms for regret
noun
Remorse
concern, compunction, worry, repentance, self-reproach, self-condemnation, self-disgust, misgiving, regretfulness, nostalgia, self-accusation, contrition, qualm, scruple, penitence, bitterness, disappointment, dissatisfaction, uneasiness, conscience, discomfort, annoyance, spiritual disturbance; see also care 2, repentance.
Antonyms comfort*, satisfaction, ease.
Grief
sorrow, pain, anxiety; see grief 1. See syn. study at repentance.
verb
To be sorry for
mourn, bewail, lament, cry over, rue, grieve, repent, repine, have compunctions about, feel remorse for, look back upon, feel conscience-stricken, bemoan, moan, have a bad conscience, have qualms about, weep over, be disturbed over, feel uneasy about, rue the day, laugh out of the other side of one's mouth*, kick oneself*, bite one's tongue*, cry over spilt milk*.
Antonyms celebrate*, rejoice, be satisfied with.
To disapprove of
deplore, be opposed to, deprecate; see censure, disapprove 1, dislike.
See regret in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms
regret sorrow grief anguish woe heartache heartbreak
These nouns denote mental distress. Regret has the broadest range, from mere disappointment to a painful sense of dissatisfaction or self-reproach, as over something lost or done: She looked back with regret on the pain she had caused her family.
Sorrow connotes sadness caused by misfortune, affliction, or loss; it can also imply contrition: “sorrow for his … children, who needed his protection, and whom he could not protect” (James Baldwin).
Grief is deep, acute personal sorrow, as that arising from irreplaceable loss: “Grief fills the room up of my absent child,/Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me” (Shakespeare).
Anguish implies agonizing, excruciating mental pain: “I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement” (Abraham Lincoln).
Woe is intense, often prolonged wretchedness or misery: “the deep, unutterable woe/Which none save exiles feel” (W.E. Aytoun).
Heartache most often applies to sustained private sorrow: The child's difficulties are a source of heartache to the parents.
Heartbreak is overwhelming grief: “Better a little chiding than a great deal of heartbreak” (Shakespeare).
See regret in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
verb
To feel or express sorrow for:
deplore, repent, rue. See regret
noun
Unhappiness caused by the failure of one's hopes, desires, or expectations:
disappointment, discontent, discontentment, disgruntlement, dissatisfaction, letdown. See happyA statement of acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon.
Used in plural: apology, excuse, mea culpa. See regret
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