Standard Lemma guide

rueful

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈɹuːfl̩/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: R UW1 F AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deplorable, pitiful, sorry, atrabiliary, atrabilious, depressing, distressing, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable, lamentable, lachrymable, mournful, regrettable, rueful, sad, saddening, sorrowful, tragic, unhappy, upsetting, woebegone, woeful, regretful, repining

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Inspiring pity or compassion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pathetic, pitiable, pitiful, pitisome, compassionate, pathetisad, piteous, poor, rueful, ruthful, snivelly, sorry-ass

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Bad; woeful; deplorable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unfavorable, negative, abysmal, atrocious, awful, bad, chronic, coarse, corny, crap, crapalicious, crappy, crummy, deityforsaken, dire, disagreeable, dismal, dogshit, dreadful, fifth-rate, foul, fourth-rate, godawful, hellish, hideous, hopeless, horrendous, horrid, horrible, horrific, inadequate, incompetent, inelegant, intolerable, inferior, lackluster, loathsome, lousy, miserable, naff, odious, ordinary, pathetic, peak, piss-poor, rotten, rubbish, shitawful, shitty, sixth-rate, sloppy, subpar, terrible, wack

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: contrite, remorseful, ruthful

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *hrewwaną Proto-West Germanic *hreuwan Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Germanic *-ō Proto-West Germanic *-u Proto-West Germanic *hreuwu Old English hrēow Middle English rewe Proto-Indo-European *pleh1- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h1nós Proto-Germanic *fullaz Proto-Germanic *-fullaz Old English -ful Middle English -ful Middle English reuful English rueful From Middle English ruful, rewful. By surface analysis, rue + -ful.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: печален (pečalen) — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Bulgarian: плачевен (plačeven) — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Finnish: kaduttava — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Finnish: katuva — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Finnish: katuvainen — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • German: reuig — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • German: reumütig — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Māori: āwhitu — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Māori: kōhau — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Māori: ngetengete — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Plautdietsch: leet (nds) — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Portuguese: recalcado — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Russian: гру́стный (grústnyj) — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Russian: печа́льный (pečálʹnyj) — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Russian: уны́лый (unýlyj) — causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow
  • Dutch: meelijwekkend — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Finnish: surkea — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Finnish: säälittävä — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Georgian: საწყალი (sac̣q̇ali) — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Georgian: საცოდავი (sacodavi) — inspiring pity or compassion
  • German: kläglich — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Māori: whakaaroha — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Russian: жа́лкий (žálkij) — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Russian: несча́стный (nesčástnyj) — inspiring pity or compassion
  • Spanish: sentir lastima o compasion — inspiring pity or compassion