regret

regret
re|gret1 [rıˈgret] v past tense and past participle regretted present participle regretting [T]
[Date: 1400-1500; : Old French; Origin: regreter]
1.) to feel sorry about something you have done and wish you had not done it
▪ I've never regretted the decision.
▪ Don't do anything you might regret.
regret doing sth
▪ I now regret leaving school so young.
regret (that)
▪ He was beginning to regret that he'd come along.
bitterly/deeply/greatly regret
▪ It was a stupid thing to do and I bitterly regret it.
▪ If we don't act now, we'll live to regret it (=we'll regret it in the future) .
2.) [not in progressive] formal
used in official letters or statements when saying that you are sorry or sad about something
▪ We regret any inconvenience caused to our customers.
regret (that)
▪ I regret that I will be unable to attend.
regret to say/inform/tell
▪ I regret to inform you that your contract will not be renewed.
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WORD CHOICE: regret, be sorry
Regret is very formal when it is used to apologize : I deeply regret causing you offence.
It is more usual to say you are sorry : I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings.
If you regret doing something, you wish you had not done it : Do you regret resigning from your job? | I asked him to join us, then regretted it.
You can say you are sorry about something that you wish you had not done, or something that is not your fault : I was sorry that she decided not to come back.
You can say that you are sorry to say something or regret to say something before giving bad news : I am sorry to tell you that you failed the test. |We regret to inform you that no trains will run today.
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regret 2
regret2 n
1.) [C usually plural, U]
sadness that you feel about something, especially because you wish it had not happened
regret about
▪ I have no regrets about leaving.
great/deep regret
▪ She has already expressed deep regret for what happened.
with regret
▪ I decided with some regret that it was time to move on.
▪ It is with great regret that I must decline your offer.
to sb's regret
▪ I lost touch with her, much to my regret.
2.) give/send your regrets
formal to say that you are unable to go to a meeting, accept an invitation etc
▪ My father was ill and had to send his regrets.

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • regret — [ r(ə)grɛ ] n. m. • 1530; faire regret de « manifester sa douleur à propos de » 1170; de regretter I ♦ État de conscience douloureux causé par la perte d un bien. Regret du pays natal. ⇒ nostalgie. « S attarder aux vains regrets du passé »… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • regret — REGRET. s. m. Déplaisir d avoir perdu un bien qu on avoit, ou que l on pouvoit avoir. J ay grand regret à mon Amy qui est mort. il a grand regret à l occasion qu il a perduë. il a eu de bonne marchandise, il ne doit pas avoir regret à son argent …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • regret — Regret, Desyderium. N avoir point de regret à son adolescence, Non requirere adolescentiam, B. ex Cic. De regret de celles qui estoyent demeurées derriere, Ad desyderium relictarum. Estre esmeu du regret d aucun, Desyderio alicuius moueri. Je ne… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • regret — REGRÉT, regrete, s.n. Părere de rău cauzată de pierderea unui lucru sau a unei fiinţe, de o nereuşită sau de săvârşirea unei fapte nesocotite; p. ext. remuşcare, căinţă. – Din fr. regret. Trimis de dante, 05.07.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  REGRÉT s.… …   Dicționar Român

  • Regret — Re*gret (r?*gr?t ), n. [F., fr. regretter. See {Regret}, v.] 1. Pain of mind on account of something done or experienced in the past, with a wish that it had been different; a looking back with dissatisfaction or with longing; grief; sorrow;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Regret — Студийный альбом EverEve …   Википедия

  • Regret — Re*gret , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Regretted} ( t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Regretting}.] [F. regretter, OF. regreter; L. pref. re re + a word of Teutonic origin; cf. Goth. gr[=e]tan to weep, Icel. gr[=a]ta. See {Greet} to lament.] To experience regret …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • regret — regrèt m. fr. regret. Cu si pren sensa amor pòu ben si quitar sens regret prov. . voir pentiment …   Diccionari Personau e Evolutiu

  • regret — [n] upset over past action affliction, anguish, annoyance, apologies, apology, bitterness, care, compunction, concern, conscience, contrition, demur, disappointment, discomfort, dissatisfaction, dole, grief, heartache, heartbreak, lamentation,… …   New thesaurus

  • regret — [ri gret′] vt. regretted, regretting [ME regretten < OFr regreter, to bewail the dead < re + Gmc base as in OE gretan, ON grata, Goth gretan, to weep] 1. to feel sorry about or mourn for (a person or thing gone, lost, etc.) 2. to feel… …   English World dictionary

  • Regret — (fr., spr. R greh), 1) Bedauern; 2) Reue; davon: Regrettiren, bedauern …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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