rueful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"In one day," he says, with a rueful smile.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
“And then,” she says with a small, rueful laugh, “everything was really hard for the next 20 years.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025
Good actors “act the way people used to act,” he says with a rueful nostalgia at odds with his youth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
While he enjoys the craftmanship, he admits with a rueful smile that he has still not learned to play the piano himself.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2025
It had been supplanted by a rueful sympathy and something not unlike affection.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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Vocabulary lists containing rueful
List 1
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Tuck Everlasting
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 8–13
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