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regretfully

adverb

Simple meaning

Unfortunately, in a way inspiring or deserving regret.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rihgrehtfuhlee

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹɪɡˈɹɛtfəli

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. With regret (used in polite formulas)

    “I must regretfully decline your kind invitation.”

  2. proscribed

    Unfortunately, in a manner inspiring or deserving regret; used only as a sentence adverb (to introduce and modify an entire sentence).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: With regret (used in polite formulas)

Used this way, regretfully is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“I must regretfully decline your kind invitation.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Slightly formal
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use regretfully

  • “I must regretfully decline your kind invitation.”adverb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

back regretfullysomewhat regretfullyregretfully informedregretfully left

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.