rueful

American  

[roo-fuhl] / ˈru fəl /

adjective

1. causing sorrow or pity; pitiable; deplorable.

   a rueful plight.

2. feeling, showing, or expressing sorrow, repentance, or regret.

   the rueful look on her face.

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rueful British  

/ ˈruːfʊl /

adjective

1. feeling or expressing sorrow or repentance

   a rueful face

2. inspiring sorrow or pity

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Other Word Forms

• half-rueful adjective
• ruefully adverb
• ruefulness noun
• unrueful adjective
• unruefulness noun

Etymology

Origin of rueful

First recorded in 1175–1225, rueful is from the Middle English word reowful; rue ¹, -ful

Example Sentences

So he decides to keep appearing in clubs to tell tales of his relationship woes, lacing the commentary with rueful remarks that are vaguely comic, though nothing he says is actually funny.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s one of many smart, rueful asides in what amounts to a nonjudgmental cinematic essay on the increasingly atomized nature of contemporary living.

From The Wall Street Journal

“And then,” she says with a small, rueful laugh, “everything was really hard for the next 20 years.”

From Los Angeles Times

Their catch-up turns into a rueful airing out of long-simmering resentments in a way that shakes Jay to his core, confirming some of his own worst suspicions about himself.

From Los Angeles Times

Who knows the best way to get out from behind a disaster by striking a rueful pose?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• mournful
• sad