Synonyms for sorriness
noun feeling bad for past actionAntonyms for sorriness
Word Origin & History
Old English sarig "distressed, grieved, full of sorrow" (not found in the physical sense of "sore"), from Proto-Germanic *sairiga- "painful" (cf. Old Saxon serag, Middle Dutch seerigh "sore; sad, sorry," Dutch zeerig "sore, full of sores," Old High German serag, Swedish sårig "sore, full of sores"), from *sairaz "pain" (physical and mental); related to *saira- "suffering, sick, ill" (see sore (adj.)). Meaning "wretched, worthless, poor" first recorded mid-13c. Spelling shift from -a- to -o- by influence of sorrow. Apologetic sense (short for I'm sorry) is attested from 1834; phrase sorry about that popularized 1960s by U.S. TV show "Get Smart." Related: Sorrily; sorriness.
Example Sentences forsorriness
An odd feeling of sorriness for her step-mother came over Joan.
His voice was thick with sorriness, and he could hardly get the words out.
And her sorriness held her heart warm, in the glow of giving comfort.
Perhaps if I told him I knew how wicked I was, the sorriness would come later.
But she did not tell them of the sorriness of her situation: it might have brought reproach upon him.