rueful

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈrufəl/ UK /ˈruːfʊl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
expressing regret or sorrow, often in a wry, resigned way

He gave a rueful smile at his own mistake.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · expressing regret or... regretful sorrowful contrite apologetic wistful mournful

Opposites

unrepentant cheerful gleeful

Word family

Derived forms ruefullyruefulness

Related forms rue ruefully

Etymology

From Middle English reuful, from Old English hrēowful, from hrēow ('sorrow, regret') + -ful, from Proto-Germanic *hrewwō.

hrēowful Old English *hrewwō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# rueful

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈrufəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈruːfʊl/

## Meanings
1. expressing regret or sorrow, often in a wry, resigned way

## Examples
- He gave a rueful smile at his own mistake.

## Synonyms
- regretful
- sorrowful
- contrite
- apologetic
- wistful
- mournful

## Antonyms
- unrepentant
- cheerful
- gleeful

## Derived Forms
- ruefully
- ruefulness

## Related Forms
- rue
- ruefully

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hrēowful
- Root: *hrewwō

## Etymology
From Middle English reuful, from Old English hrēowful, from hrēow ('sorrow, regret') + -ful, from Proto-Germanic *hrewwō.

## AI Etymology
Rueful comes from Middle English reuful, from Old English hrēowful, from hrēow ('sorrow, regret') + -ful, from Proto-Germanic *hrewwō. The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As an adjective, it carries the sense "expressing regret or sorrow, often in a wry, resigned way", with the older formation still helping explain the modern use. Relevant historical forms include Old English hrēowful and Proto-Germanic *hrewwō. Derivative forms include ruefully, ruefulness; related words include rue, ruefully.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown