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.
 ◄ ►
 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]
 regretting
      See regret