What does remorseful mean?
Remorseful means feeling deep regret and sorrow because of something one has done, especially something wrong, cruel, or harmful. The word carries a strong sense of moral responsibility: a remorseful person recognizes not only that the outcome was unfortunate but also that their own conduct contributed to it. It is more specific than regretful, which can refer broadly to disappointment, and it describes an emotional state rather than a formal promise to reform, as repentant may do. Common expressions include feeling remorseful, being deeply remorseful, and being genuinely remorseful. The adjective can modify people, voices, expressions, and accounts of wrongdoing: a remorseful letter may acknowledge an offense, while a remorseful tone can communicate regret without explicitly naming it. Because the term often concerns guilt, contrition, and accountability, it is usually reserved for situations involving genuine moral or emotional seriousness.
adjectiveFeeling or showing deep regret and sorrow for a wrong or harmful action. It conveys a sense of moral responsibility rather than ordinary inconvenience or disappointment.
- Feeling or showing deep regret and sorrow for a wrong or harmful action.
"She was genuinely remorseful after realizing how much her actions had hurt her friend."
"The defendant remained remorseful and apologized sincerely for the harm he had caused."
"Her remorseful expression made it clear that she understood the seriousness of her mistake."
Remorseful is more than sorry: it names the particular ache of realizing that your own choices caused real harm.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does remorseful come from?
Remorseful is formed from remorse with the suffix -ful, meaning “full of.” Remorse comes through Old French from Latin remorsus, a past participle of remordere, a verb based on mordere, “to bite,” and originally associated with being gnawed or tormented. Over time, the word developed the sense of painful regret for wrongdoing, and remorseful came to describe a person filled with that regret.
Related word forms
How remorseful is actually used
Remorseful is commonly used in personal, moral, legal, and religious contexts. It is more formal and more strongly moral in tone than simply saying sorry, and it generally describes sincere regret rather than performative or insincere apology.
Easily confused with remorseful
Regretful can describe sorrow over any disappointing outcome, whereas remorseful more specifically implies sorrow and moral responsibility for having caused harm or wrongdoing.
Repentant describes a person's willingness or intention to turn away from wrongdoing, while remorseful primarily describes the regret and sorrow they feel about it.