Synonyms of rueful
87 similar words
Another word for rueful is sorry. Other synonyms of rueful are tragic, sad, depressing, upsetting and deplorable.
Synonyms and similar words for rueful
adjectiveCausing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way.
- deplorableTo be felt sorrow for; worthy of compassion; lamentable.
- pitiful
- sorryRegretful or apologetic for one's actions.
- atrabiliary
- atrabilious
- depressingCausing depression or sadness.
- distressingCausing distress; upsetting; distressful.
- grievousCausing grief, pain, or sorrow.
- heartbreakingThat causes great grief, anguish or distress.
- heartrending
- lamentableCausing sorrow, distress or regret; deplorable, pitiful or distressing.
- mournfulFit to inspire mourning; tragic.
- regrettableAble to be regretted, especially deserving of regret.
- sadCausing sorrow; lamentable.
- saddeningCausing feelings of sadness.
- sorrowfulProducing sorrow; causing grief.
- tragicCausing great sadness or suffering.
- unhappy
- upsettingCausing upset; distressing, unsettling, hurtful.
- woebegone
- woefulLamentable, deplorable.
- regretfulFull of feelings of regret, indulging in regrets.
- repiningThe act of fretting or feeling discontent or of murmuring.
- miserable obsoleteCausing unhappiness or misery.
- lachrymable archaicLamentable.
adjectiveInspiring pity or compassion.
- patheticArousing pity, sympathy, or compassion; exciting pathos.
- pitiableThat deserves, evokes or can be given pity; pitiful.
- pitisomeCharacterised or marked by pitifulness; piteous.
- piteousProvoking pity, compassion, or sympathy.
- poorWorthy of pity.
- ruthfulCausing pity; piteous.
- snivellyPitiful; whining.
- sorry-ass slang, vulgarPitiful, worthless; utterly terrible or dire.
- compassionate obsoleteInviting or asking for pity.
- pathetisad rarePathetic: arousing scornful pity or contempt.
adjectiveBad; woeful; deplorable.
- unfavorable
- negative
- abysmal figuratively
- atrocious
- awful
- bad
- chronic slang
- coarse
- corny
- crap slang, vulgarOf poor quality.
- crappy slang, vulgar
- crummy slang
- dire
- disagreeable
- dismal
- dogshit vulgar
- dreadful
- fifth-rate
- foul
- fourth-rate
- godawful
- hellish
- hideous
- hopeless
- horrendousExtremely bad; awful; terrible.
- horrid
- horrible
- horrificCausing horror; horrifying.
- inadequateNot adequate; lacking in quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.
- incompetent
- inelegantNot elegant; not exhibiting neatness, refinement, or precision.
- intolerable
- inferior
- lackluster
- loathsomeHighly offensive; abominable, sickening.
- lousy
- naff slang
- odiousArousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure.
- ordinary Australia
- peak
- piss-poorReflecting a low standard of workmanship or achievement; very inferior.
- rotten
- rubbish Australia, colloquialExceedingly bad; awful.
- shitawful vulgarVery awful.
- shitty vulgar
- sixth-rate
- sloppy
- subpar
- terrible
- wackAnnoyingly or disappointingly bad, in various senses; lousy, corny, cringy, uncool, messed up.
- crapalicious rare, slangWorthless; bad.
- deityforsaken humorous, rareGodforsaken; particularly bad or terrible.
Meaning of rueful
- adjective Causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way.
- adjective Inspiring pity or compassion.
- adjective Bad; woeful; deplorable.
rueful in other languages
Questions about synonyms of rueful
- What is another word for rueful?
- Rueful has 87 synonyms on Word.ws, such as sorry, tragic, sad, depressing, upsetting, deplorable, distressing and grievous.
- What does rueful mean?
- Rueful means causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: rueful (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of rueful.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/rueful. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.