regrettable
/ɹɪɡɹˈɛtəbəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.96 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Able to be regretted, especially deserving of regret.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "And 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."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wre- Latin re-der. Old French re- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁d-der. Proto-Germanic *grētaną Frankish *grātander. Old French *greter Old French regreterbor. Middle English regretten English regret Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English regrettable From regret + -able.
Inflected Forms
more regrettable (comparative)
most regrettable (superlative)