rue1
/ruː
/verb (rues, rueing or ruing, rued) [with object]
Bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen) and wish it undone: Ferguson will rue the day he turned down that offer she might live to rue this impetuous decision...
- Labour could be left ruing that decision this weekend.
- Residents who planted trees on this road are now ruing the decision that they once thought would help the community.
- States that worked hard to attract high-tech jobs are also ruing the decision, and discovering that a more diversified economy is more prosperous during the bust.
Synonyms
regret, be sorry about, feel apologetic/remorseful about, feel remorse for, repent of;
reproach oneself for, kick oneself for;
deplore, lament, bemoan, bewail
noun [mass noun] archaic
1Repentance; regret: with rue my heart is laden
1.1Compassion; pity: tears of pitying rue...
- Burginde came around the end of the waggon, and with a look of mingled pity and rue, helped me guide her charge back to our waggon.
- Filmmakers from these countries reflect on those old ties with a combination of curiosity, rue and rage.
- Yet audiences flocked to see Gordin's terse presentation of sorrow and rue.
Origin
Old English hrēow 'repentance', hrēowan 'affect with contrition', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch rouw 'mourning' and German Reue 'remorse'.
Rhymes
rue2
/ruː/noun
1A perennial evergreen shrub with bitter strong-scented lobed leaves which are used in herbal medicine.
- Ruta graveolens, family Rutaceae.
- The medical use of rue is very wide.
- In ancient Greece and Egypt, rue was employed to stimulate menstrual bleeding, induce abortions, and strengthen eyesight.
1.1Used in names of other plants that resemble rue, especially in leaf shape, e.g. goat’s rue, meadow rue, and wall rue.The dainty blooms of this early flowering meadow rue provide an excellent contrast with larger flowered plants....
- This combination of management and heavy, poorly-drained soils favoured characteristic plants such as great burnet, devil's bit scabious, meadow rue and pepper saxifrage.
- In addition to its lactogenic properties, goat's rue comes from the same family as fenugreek and is also considered to have anti-diabetic properties.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French, via Latin from Greek rhutē.