# regretting

/ɹɪˈɡɹɛtɪŋ/ (US) · /ɹɪɡɹˈɛtɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/regretting
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. feeling sorry about the past

verb · CEFR B1

feeling sad or sorry about a choice you made or something that happened.

For teachers: experiencing a sense of loss, disappointment, or remorse over a past event or action. This form often functions as a gerund or part of a continuous verb tense.

- He is already regretting his decision to sell his old car.
- After years of working long hours, she found herself regretting the time she had missed with her children during their formative years.

Usage: Often followed by a gerund (verb ending in -ing) to show what the person is sorry about.

### 2. the act of feeling regret

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

the act or process of feeling sorry about something.

For teachers: the manifestation or instance of feeling remorse. Used as a gerund to describe the activity itself.

- Regretting the past will not help you change the future.
- The constant regretting of his missed opportunities eventually became a barrier to his professional growth.

Usage: Functions as a noun phrase, often as the subject or object of a sentence.

## Examples

- I am already regretting my decision to stay home.
- She sat by the window for hours, clearly regretting the harsh words she had spoken during the argument.
- While many people fear regretting their career choices later in life, research suggests that we often feel more pain over the risks we never took than the mistakes we actually made.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.