Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
regnal
regnant
rego
regolith
regorge
regress
regression
regressive
regret
regretful
regrettable
regroup
Regt.
regular
regular foot
regular-footer
regularize
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "regret" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

regret

re·gret [ ri grét ]


transitive verb  (past and past participle re·gret·ted, present participle re·gret·ting, 3rd person present singular re·grets)
Definition:
 
1. feel sorry for something: to feel sorry and sad about something previously done or said that now appears wrong, mistaken, or hurtful to others

2. used politely when giving bad news: used as a polite expression of sorrow when making an apology or delivering a piece of bad or unwelcome news
We regret to inform you that this service is no longer available.
We regret any inconvenience caused.

3. mourn for somebody or something: to feel sadness about something, or feel a sense of loss and longing for somebody or something that is no longer there ( formal )



noun  (plural re·grets)
Definition:
 
1. sad or disappointed feeling: a feeling or expression of sorrow and guilt for a past action or event that you now wish had not happened or had happened differently

2. feeling of sadness: a feeling of sadness, disappointment, or longing for somebody or something that is no longer there



plural noun re·grets 
Definition:
 
expression of sadness: a polite expression of real or pretended sadness, used especially when refusing something such as an invitation
My mother sends her regrets, but she can't come to the party.

[15th century. < Old French regreter]

re·gret·ter noun
Englishtown: Learn English online
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
MSN Shopping
Upgrade your Encarta experience
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft