Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- In a rueful manner.
- Pitiably; lamentably; deplorably.
- Sorrowfully; mournfully; lugubriously.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb In a
rueful manner; causing, feeling, or expressingregret orsorrow .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb in a rueful manner
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Then, turning to ride back into Oakland, a thought came to him that made him grin ruefully as he muttered: And now it's up to me to make good and buy that blamed quarry.
Chapter XIII 2010
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In the revised edition (1992) of his book Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, the sociologist Andrew Cherlin ruefully comments: If there were a truth-in-labeling law for books, the title of this edition should be something long and unwieldy like Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, More
Dan Quayle Was Right 1993
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In the revised edition (1992) of his book Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, the sociologist Andrew Cherlin ruefully comments: If there were a truth-in-labeling law for books, the title of this edition should be something long and unwieldy like Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, More
Dan Quayle Was Right 1993
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In the revised edition (1992) of his book Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, the sociologist Andrew Cherlin ruefully comments: If there were a truth-in-labeling law for books, the title of this edition should be something long and unwieldy like Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, More
Dan Quayle Was Right 1993
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In the revised edition (1992) of his book Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, the sociologist Andrew Cherlin ruefully comments: If there were a truth-in-labeling law for books, the title of this edition should be something long and unwieldy like Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, More
Dan Quayle Was Right 1993
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Then, turning to ride back into Oakland, a thought came to him that made him grin ruefully as he muttered: And now it's up to me to make good and buy that blamed quarry.
Chapter XIII 1910
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He reiterated, as well, his devotion to non-violent principles, recalling ruefully that when Tibetans briefly resorted to political force in an uprising in the 1950s the result was "more suppression, more control, more rigidity" – and a half-million dead.
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He reiterated, as well, his devotion to non-violent principles, recalling ruefully that when Tibetans briefly resorted to political force in an uprising in the 1950s the result was "more suppression, more control, more rigidity" – and a half-million dead.
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These are the moments at which he recalls ruefully that the great merit of such and such a small case, the merit for his particular advised use, had been precisely in the smallness.
The Awkward Age Henry James 1879
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Better to hide out in the bathroom, she recalled ruefully, than risk the public humiliation of eating solo.
agustinolvera commented on the word ruefully
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer pg. 240
"He admitted ruefully that the helmet was a good idea."
December 2, 2010