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
So he decides to keep appearing in clubs to tell tales of his relationship woes, lacing the commentary with rueful remarks that are vaguely comic, though nothing he says is actually funny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
“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
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
A rueful smile, a shrug, and a nod as if to a skillful opponent who’d made a good move at the chessboard: that was what her body said.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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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