regretful 是一个形容词,意为"感到后悔的、遗憾的",用来形容一个人对已经发生的事情感到惋惜或懊悔。
/rɪˈɡrɛtfəl/
She gave a regretful smile as she said goodbye to her old house.
她向老房子告别时,露出了一个充满遗憾的微笑。
He was regretful about not spending more time with his grandparents when they were alive, and that feeling stayed with him for years.
他后悔在祖父母在世时没有多花时间陪伴他们,这种感觉伴随了他很多年。
regretful 由 regret(后悔)加上后缀 -ful(充满……的)构成。regret 源自古法语 regreter,意为"哀悼、为……感到悲伤",可能与古日耳曼语中表示"哭泣"的词根有关。加上 -ful 后,表示"充满后悔之情的"。