as in bitterly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
ruefully accepted the fact that the drunk driver would never adequately pay for his crime
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Recent Examples of ruefully
Elsa / Getty Images The Atlanta Falcons’ struggles had head coach Raheem Morris ruefully quoting his former boss and friend, Mike Tomlin.
—
Josh Kendall, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
Safdie says as Johnson laughs ruefully.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
Watch Swift ruefully recount how Sheeran found out about her engagement above.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
Annoyingly, the line was all McNamara, D'Arcy points out ruefully.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Jon Stewart, ever the happy employee in his running joke of begrudgingly working Monday nights at The Daily Show, ruefully acknowledged being back at his post after being on vacation for over a month.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
At some point Crockett looks at me ruefully and apologizes for being such a downer.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2025
Black and Richardson had shared books and talk—and, as Black ruefully admitted, cocaine—in the back room at Elaine’s.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Josh Kendall, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
Safdie says as Johnson laughs ruefully.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
Watch Swift ruefully recount how Sheeran found out about her engagement above.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
Annoyingly, the line was all McNamara, D'Arcy points out ruefully.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Jon Stewart, ever the happy employee in his running joke of begrudgingly working Monday nights at The Daily Show, ruefully acknowledged being back at his post after being on vacation for over a month.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
At some point Crockett looks at me ruefully and apologizes for being such a downer.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2025
Black and Richardson had shared books and talk—and, as Black ruefully admitted, cocaine—in the back room at Elaine’s.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruefully
Adverb
-
In the capital, Kyiv, temperatures well below zero and bitterly cold winds are expected for the next four days at least.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The business relationship appears to have ended bitterly, based on the emails.—
John Diedrich,
jsonline.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
So, Elliott Gould’s character, Legal, sadly dies this season.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Although the movie indicated that, sadly, little in Congress has changed — the same bickering and same patronage — our world has changed.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
6 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
The Seahawks came painfully close to becoming back-to-back champions.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
But the ethical questions that the case had raised—about the meaning of family and the commodification of children, the tension between reproductive autonomy and contractual compulsion—were left painfully unresolved.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruefully. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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