Re·gret, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Regretted p. pr. & vb. n. Regretting.] To experience regret on account of; to lose or miss with a sense of regret; to feel sorrow or dissatisfaction on account of (the happening or the loss of something); as, to regret an error; to regret lost opportunities or friends.
Calmly he looked on either life, and here
Saw nothing to regret, or there to fear. --Pope.
In a few hours they [the Israelites] began to regret their slavery, and to murmur against their leader. --Macaulay.
Recruits who regretted the plow from which they had been violently taken. --Macaulay.
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regret
n : sadness associated with some wrong done or some
disappointment; "he drank to drown his sorrows"; "he
wrote a note expressing his regret"; "to his rue, the
error cost him the game" [syn: sorrow, rue, ruefulness]
v 1: feel remorse for; feel sorry for; be contrite about [syn: repent,
rue]
2: feel sad about the loss or absence of
3: decline formally or politely; "I regret I can't come to the
party"
4: be sorry; "I regret to say that you did not gain admission
to Harvard"
[also: regretting, regretted]