rue

Meaning

Noun

1. Sorrow; repentance; regret.
2. Pity; compassion.

Verb

1. (obsolete) To cause to repent of sin or regret some past action.
2. (obsolete) To cause to feel sorrow or pity.
3. To repent of or regret (some past action or event); to wish that a past action or event had not taken place.
4. To feel compassion or pity.
5. To feel sorrow or regret.

Synonyms

regret

repent

feel sorrow

sorrow

Ruta graveolens

grieve

lament

herb of grace

remorse

sympathy

feel remorse

be penitent

ruefulness

pity

street

wail

weep

yearning

feel sorry

misericorde

be regretful

common rue

be contrite

be penitent for

begrudge

herb-of-grace

bemoan

be sorry for

bewail

compassion

craving

deplore

hankering

hungriness

mercy

moan

mourn

repentance

repent of

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹuː/

Etymology

From Middle English rewe, reowe, from Old English hrēow (“sorrow, regret, penitence, repentance, penance”), from Proto-West Germanic *hreuwu (“pain, sadness, regret, repentance”). Compare German reuen (“to regret, to repent”) and Dutch berouwen (“to regret, to repent”). Also compare with related Russian сокруша́ться (sokrušátʹsja, “to be distressed, to grieve (for, over)”), Russian круши́ть (krušítʹ, “to destroy, to shatter”).