Meanings
comparative more regrettable · superlative most regrettable
- Able to be regretted, especially deserving of regret.
The officers' actions were regrettable, yes, but there's nothing to be done now but to relocate everyone to the mainland in a calm and orderly manner.
2 more examples
Jeeves: Foreign travel often liberates emotions best kept in check, sir. The air of North America is notoriously stimulating in this regard, as witness the regrettable behavior of its inhabitants in 1776. B. Wooster: Hm? What happened in 1776, Jeeves? Jeeves: I prefer not to dwell on it, if it's convenient to you, sir.
1991 May 12, “Kidnapped!”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5And when they do, readers may find themselves on an unfamiliar website with an odd name, faced with a photo gallery of regrettable tattoos or a listicle on 22 celebrities with ugly spouses.
2019 October 4, Tiffany Hsu, “You Will Be Shocked by This Article”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2020Synonyms: deplorable, pitiful, atrabiliary, atrabilious, deplorable, depressing, distressing, grievous
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveAble to be regretted, especially deserving of regret.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivedeserving regret
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Italic*wre-
- Latinre-
- Old Frenchre-
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰreh₁d-
- Proto-Germanic*grētaną
- Frankish*grātan
- Old French*greter
- Old Frenchregreter
- Middle Englishregretten
- Englishregret
- Englishregrettable
Translations
Bulgarian достоен за съжаление
- достоен за съжаление (dostoen za săžalenie)of an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Catalan lamentable
- lamentableof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Chinese Mandarin 令人遺憾的 /令人遗憾的
- 令人遺憾的 /令人遗憾的 (lìngrén yíhàn de)of an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Czech politováníhodný
- politováníhodnýof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Dutch betreurenswaardig
- betreurenswaardigof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Finnish harmillinen
- harmillinenof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
French regrettable
- regrettableof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
German bedauerlich, bedauernswert
- bedauerlichof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- bedauernswertof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Greek λυπηρός
- λυπηρός (lypirós)of an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Hungarian sajnálatos
- sajnálatosof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Italian riprovevole, deplorevole
- riprovevoleof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- deplorevoleof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- incresciosoof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- deprecabileof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Latin paenitendus
- paenitendusof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Polish godny ubolewania, godny pożałowania
- godny ubolewaniaof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- godny pożałowaniaof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Portuguese lamentável, deplorável
- lamentávelof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- deplorávelof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Russian прискорбный
- прискорбный (priskorbnyj)of an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Spanish lamentable
- lamentableof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Swedish beklagansvärd
- beklagansvärdof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Thai น่าเสียใจ, น่าเสียดาย
- น่าเสียใจ (nâa-sǐia-jai)of an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- น่าเสียดาย (nâa-sǐia-daai)of an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Vietnamese đáng tiếc, đáng ân hận
- đáng tiếcof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
- đáng ân hậnof an event, action, or state, allowing or deserving regret
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with regrettable
All rhymes →Cite this entry
regrettable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/regrettable
“regrettable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/regrettable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “regrettable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/regrettable.
Source: regrettable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.