# rue

/ˈɹu/ (US) · /ɹˈuː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/rue
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. to regret

verb · CEFR C1 · Literary · Formal

to feel very sorry about something you did and wish you could change it.

For teachers: to feel sorrow or regret for a past action or event. Transitive — always takes a direct object, often a decision or a specific day.

- He will rue the day he decided to quit his job without a plan.
- The former CEO lived to rue his decision to sell the company's patents, watching helplessly as his competitors dominated the market.

Usage: Commonly appears in the fixed expression 'rue the day'.

### 2. a bitter plant

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a small plant with yellow flowers and a very bitter taste, sometimes used in old medicines.

For teachers: any of various perennial shrubs of the genus Ruta, characterized by bitter-tasting leaves and historically used in herbal medicine.

- The garden was filled with herbs like rosemary, thyme, and rue.
- In traditional herbalism, rue was often cultivated for its supposed medicinal properties, despite its extreme bitterness and potential toxicity.

Usage: Usually uncountable when referring to the plant species generally.

## Examples

- She began to rue her harsh words.
- He soon began to rue his decision to skip the safety check.
- Years later, the politician would rue the hasty compromise that ultimately cost him his seat and his reputation.

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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.