SORRY: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for SORRY?

Need another word that means the same as “sorry”? Find 63 synonyms and 30 related words for “sorry” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Sorry” are: deplorable, distressing, lamentable, pitiful, sad, blue, dark, dingy, disconsolate, dismal, drab, drear, dreary, gloomy, grim, meritless, no-account, no-count, no-good, bad, regretful, unhappy, sorrowful, distressed, upset, depressed, downcast, miserable, downhearted, disheartened, dejected, down, despondent, despairing, heartbroken, inconsolable, grief-stricken, full of pity, sympathetic, pitying, compassionate, moved, commiserative, consoling, empathetic, caring, concerned, understanding, remorseful, contrite, repentant, rueful, penitent, apologetic, abject, guilty, guilt-ridden, ashamed, shamefaced, sheepish, in sackcloth and ashes, afraid, pitiable

Sorry as an Adjective

Definitions of "Sorry" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “sorry” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Without merit.
• Used as a polite request that someone should repeat something that one has failed to hear or understand.
• Feeling sad or distressed through sympathy with someone else's misfortune.
• Causing dejection.
• Feeling regret or penitence.
• Bad; unfortunate.
• Without merit; of little or no value or use.
• Feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone.
• Filled with compassion for.
• In a poor or pitiful state.
• Unpleasant and regrettable, especially on account of incompetence or misbehaviour.
• Used to express apology.

Synonyms of "Sorry" as an adjective (63 Words)

abject	Showing humiliation or submissiveness. Abject cowardice.
afraid	Filled with regret or concern; used often to soften an unpleasant statement. She was afraid that he would be angry.
apologetic	Constituting a formal defence or justification of a theory or doctrine. An apologetic smile.
ashamed	Embarrassed or guilty because of one’s actions, characteristics, or associations. I m ashamed to say I followed him home.
bad	Feeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad. A bad cut.
blue	Of a ski run of the second lowest level of difficulty as indicated by blue markers positioned along it. He s feeling blue.
caring	Displaying kindness and concern for others. A caring and invaluable friend.
commiserative	Feeling or expressing sympathy. Made commiserative clicking sounds with his tongue.
compassionate	Feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others. She tried to sound compassionate.
concerned	Involved in or affected by or having a claim to or share in. A memorandum to those concerned.
consoling	Affording comfort or solace. His sister gave him a consoling pat on the back.
contrite	Feeling or expressing remorse at the recognition that one has done wrong. A contrite tone.
dark	Having a dark hue. Dark colors like wine red or navy blue.
dejected	Affected or marked by low spirits. Is dejected but trying to look cheerful.
deplorable	Deserving strong condemnation; completely unacceptable. Deplorable housing conditions in the inner city.
depressed	Filled with melancholy and despondency. The market is depressed.
despairing	Showing the loss of all hope. The last despairing plea of the condemned criminal.
despondent	In low spirits from loss of hope or courage. Despondent about his failure.
dingy	Discolored by impurities; not bright and clear is often used in combination. A dirty or dingy white.
disconsolate	Causing dejection. A disconsolate winter landscape.
disheartened	Having lost determination or confidence; dispirited. The disheartened instructor tried vainly to arouse their interest.
dismal	(of a person or their mood) gloomy. His dismal mood was not dispelled by finding the house empty.
distressed	Impoverished. He dropped out of the race clearly distressed and having difficulty breathing.
distressing	Causing anxiety, sorrow or pain; upsetting. Distressing or disturbing news.
down	Denoting a flavour variety of stable quark having relatively low mass and an electric charge of 1 3 In the Standard Model protons and neutrons are composed of up and down quarks. The down escalator.
downcast	(of a person’s eyes) looking downwards. A downcast glance.
downhearted	Filled with melancholy and despondency. Fans must not be downhearted even though we lost.
drab	Lacking brightness or color; dull. Life was drab compared with the more exciting life style overseas.
drear	Causing dejection.
dreary	Lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise. A series of dreary dinner parties.
empathetic	Showing empathy or ready comprehension of others’ states. I have been touched by the empathetic response to my bad luck.
full of pity	Complete in extent or degree and in every particular.
gloomy	Dark or poorly lit, especially so as to appear depressing or frightening. A gloomy corridor badly lit by oil lamps.
grief-stricken	Sorrowful through loss or deprivation.
grim	Harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance- J.M.Barrie. Took a grim view of the economy.
guilt-ridden	Feeling or revealing a sense of guilt.
guilty	Conscious of, affected by, or revealing a feeling of guilt. Secret guilty deeds.
heartbroken	Suffering from overwhelming distress. He was heartbroken at the thought of leaving the house.
in sackcloth and ashes	Currently fashionable.
inconsolable	(of a person or their grief) not able to be comforted or alleviated. His widow Jane was inconsolable.
lamentable	(of circumstances or conditions) very bad; deplorable. The industry is in a lamentable state.
meritless	Without merit. It s not an entirely meritless idea.
miserable	Deserving or inciting pity. Their happiness made Anne feel even more miserable.
moved	Being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion. Too moved to speak.
no-account	Without merit.
no-count	Without merit.
no-good	Without merit.
penitent	Feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentant. A penitent expression.
pitiable	Deserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy. Pitiable homeless children.
pitiful	Deserving or arousing pity. A pitiful attempt to impress her.
pitying	Feeling or showing sorrow for someone’s misfortunes, often with an implication of disdain or mild contempt. He gave her a pitying look.
regretful	Feeling or showing regret. Felt regretful over his vanished youth.
remorseful	Feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses. The defendant was remorseful for what he had done.
repentant	Expressing or feeling sincere regret and remorse; remorseful. He is truly repentant for his incredible naivety and stupidity.
rueful	Expressing sorrow or regret, especially in a wry or humorous way. She gave a rueful grin.
sad	Of things that make you feel sad. She doesn t like sad movies.
shamefaced	Showing a sense of guilt- Eric Linklater. The hangdog and shamefaced air of the retreating enemy.
sheepish	Like or suggestive of a sheep in docility or stupidity or meekness or timidity. A sheepish grin.
sorrowful	Feeling or showing grief. The sorrowful news of his father s death.
sympathetic	Relating to or denoting the part of the autonomic nervous system consisting of nerves arising from ganglia near the middle part of the spinal cord supplying the internal organs blood vessels and glands and balancing the action of the parasympathetic nerves. Buildings that were sympathetic to their surroundings.
understanding	Characterized by understanding based on comprehension and discernment and empathy. A kind and understanding man.
unhappy	Generalized feeling of distress. The unhappy truth.
upset	Thrown into a state of disarray or confusion. The Bills upset victory over the Houston Oilers.

Usage Examples of "Sorry" as an adjective

• We feel so ashamed that we keep quiet about the whole sorry business.
• A sorry state of affairs.
• I'm sorry if I was a bit brusque.
• I'm sorry—you were saying?
• I was sorry to hear about what happened to your family.
• He looks a sorry sight with his broken jaw.
• A sorry horse.
• Sorry—I was trying not to make a noise.
• He said he was sorry he had upset me.
• A sorry excuse.
• I felt sorry for the poor boys working for him.

Associations of "Sorry" (30 Words)

apologize	Express regret for something that one has done wrong. He apologized for the many typoes.
bemoan	Regret strongly. It was no use bemoaning her lot.
deplorable	Bad; unfortunate. Deplorable housing conditions in the inner city.
deplore	Feel or express strong disapproval of (something. We deplore all violence.
dirge	A lament for the dead, especially one forming part of a funeral rite. After his ten minute dirge the audience booed.
doleful	Expressing sorrow; mournful. A doleful look.
elegy	(in modern literature) a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
grief	Trouble or annoyance. Her death was a great grief to John.
grieve	Feel grief. She grieved for her father.
jeremiad	A long, mournful complaint or lamentation; a list of woes. A jeremiad against any form of government.
lament	A mournful poem a lament for the dead. He was lamenting the death of his infant daughter.
lamentable	(of circumstances or conditions) very bad; deplorable. A lamentable decision.
lamentation	A cry of sorrow and grief. Scenes of lamentation.
maudlin	(of a book, film, or song) highly sentimental. A bout of maudlin self pity.
miserable	(of a person) wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable. He felt depressed and miserable.
mourn	Observe the customs of mourning after the death of a loved one. She is mourning her dead child.
mourning	Black clothes worn as an expression of sorrow when someone dies. She s still in mourning after the death of her husband.
pathetic	Arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness. His ball control was pathetic.
pitiful	Deserving or inciting pity. A pitiful fate.
pity	An unfortunate development. What a pity we can t be friends.
regret	Express with regret. I regret I can t come to the party.
regretful	Feeling or showing regret. Regretful over mistakes she had made.
regrettable	(of conduct or an event) giving rise to regret; undesirable; unwelcome. Irresponsible and regrettable actions.
sad	Of things that make you feel sad Christina Rossetti. Better by far that you should forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad.
sadness	The quality of excessive mournfulness and uncheerfulness. It is one of life s sadnesses.
sorrow	An event or circumstance that causes sorrow. He tried to express his sorrow at her loss.
sorrowful	Feeling or showing grief. Sorrowful widows.
threnody	A lament. A brooding threnody to urban desolation.
unhappy	Causing discomfort. An unhappy marriage.
wretched	Deserving or inciting pity. A wretched life.