Word · Frequency #23794
rueful
后悔的；悔恨的；悲伤的
feeling or showing regret or sorrow, especially for one's own faults or wrongdoings
- 1.
Causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way.
引起或表达遗憾、悲伤,尤指带有苦笑或幽默意味的。
- 2.
feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses
对罪过或过失感到痛苦或悲伤的
- 3.
Inspiring pity or compassion.
令人怜悯或同情的。
- 4.
Bad; woeful; deplorable.
糟糕的；悲惨的；可叹的。
引起或表达遗憾、悲伤,尤指带有苦笑或幽默意味的。；对罪过或过失感到痛苦或悲伤的；令人怜悯或同情的。；糟糕的；悲惨的；可叹的。；悲伤的
In use
He gave a rueful smile when he realized he had forgotten his friend's birthday.
She felt rueful about the harsh words she had said in anger.
With a rueful laugh, he admitted that the mistake was his own.
rueful + noun
rueful 常修饰 smile、laugh、expression 等表示表情或神情名词。
He gave a rueful smile.
他露出一个带着悔意的微笑。
be/look/sound + rueful
作表语时表示主语感到或显得悲伤、后悔。
She sounded rueful when she talked about the mistake.
她谈到那个错误时听起来很懊悔。
be rueful about + noun/doing sth
about 后接让人后悔的事情或行为。
Connections
Collocations
- rueful smile
- 悔恨的微笑；苦笑
- She gave a rueful smile when she remembered her mistake.她想起自己的错误时，苦笑了一下。
- rueful laugh
- 苦笑；悔恨的笑
- He let out a rueful laugh at his own foolishness.他对自己干的蠢事苦笑了一声。
- rueful look
- 悔恨的表情；懊悔的神色
- He cast a rueful look at the broken vase.他悔恨地看着打碎的花瓶。
- rueful expression
- 懊悔的神情
- Her rueful expression showed she regretted the harsh words.她懊悔的神情表明她后悔说了那些刻薄的话。
- rueful grin
- 无奈的咧嘴一笑；苦笑
- With a rueful grin, he admitted he had lost the bet.他苦笑了一下，承认自己打赌输了。
- rueful sigh
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记忆：rue（后悔）+ ful（满）→ 满心后悔，神情悲伤。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：formal writing、literature 多用于正式或文学性写作，常形容带后悔或悲伤表情的笑或神态；日常口语中不太常用。
Pronunciation & Spelling
没有常见的完全押韵词。这些词分别与 rueful 共享拼写片段：ue（rueful 中的 rue）和 -ful。注意 true、blue、clue、glue 发 /uː/ 音，但结尾没有 /fəl/；useful、helpful 虽有 /fəl/，但重读元音不同，因此都不完全押韵。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.