The meaning of RUEFUL is exciting pity or sympathy : pitiable. How to use rueful in a sentence.

RUEFUL definition: 1. feeling sorry and wishing that something had not happened: 2. feeling sorry and wishing that…. Learn more.

If someone is rueful, they feel or express regret or sorrow in a quiet and gentle way.

The adjective rueful sincerely expresses regret, but it manages to do it with a hint of humor. Rueful shows up a lot in descriptions of remorseful grins or apologetic smiles. If you're sorry about something you've done but you can still laugh at yourself a little bit, you feel rueful.

feeling or showing that you are sad or sorry. Want to learn more? Definition of rueful adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective rueful, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Causing, feeling, or expressing sorrow or regret: "He gave the young officer the rueful look of a father exasperated with his misbehaving son" (Khaled Hosseini).

rueful meaning: showing slight sadness about something but not in a serious way: . Learn more.

rueful: Causing, feeling, or expressing sorrow or regret.

causing sorrow or pity; pitiable; deplorable: a rueful plight. feeling, showing, or expressing sorrow or pity; mournful; doleful: the rueful look on her face. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, …