sorry
UK /ˈsɒɹi/ · US /ˈsɑɹi/ adjective, interjection, noun, verb
Forms sorrier sorriest sorries sorrys sorrying sorried
- adjective (of a person) Regretful or apologetic for one's actions. “I am sorry I stepped on your toes. It was an accident.”
- adjective (of a person) Grieved or saddened, especially by the loss of something or someone. “I feel sorry for you, about your exam results.”
- adjective Poor, pitifully sad or regrettable. “The storm left his garden in a sorry state.”
- adjective Pathetic; contemptibly inadequate. “Bob is a sorry excuse for a football player.”
- interjection Expresses regret, remorse, or sorrow. “Sorry! I didn't see that you were on the phone.”
- interjection Said as a request to excuse one's unintentional behaviors. “Oops! Sorry!”
- interjection Said as a request to pass somebody. “Sorry! Coming through!”
- interjection Used as a request for someone to repeat something not heard or understood clearly. “Sorry? What was that? The phone cut out.”
- interjection Used to correct oneself in speech. “There are four—sorry, five—local branches of the store.”
- interjection Used as a hedge. “Sorry, but I don't care what you think.”
- noun The act of saying sorry; an apology.
- verb (intransitive, transitive, rare) To feel sorry (for someone).
Synonyms
apologetic compunctious contrite penitent regretful remorseful repentant repining rueful guilt-ridden heavy-hearted melancholy mournful atrabiliary atrabilious blitheless dispirited blue bummed out chapfallen bad deplorable distressing lamentable pitiful sad good-for-nothing good-for-naught meritless no-account
Etymology
From Middle English sory, from Old English sāriġ (“feeling or expressing grief, sorry, grieved, sorrowful, sad, mournful, bitter”), from Proto-West Germanic *sairag, from Proto-Germanic *sairagaz (“sad”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂yro (“hard, rough, painful”). Cognate with Scots sairie (“sad, grieved”), Saterland Frisian seerich (“sore, inflamed”), West Frisian searich (“sad, sorry”), Low German serig (“sick, scabby”), German dialectal sehrig (“sore, sad, painful”), Swedish sårig. By surface analysis, sor(e) + -y. Unrelated to sorrow despite the similarity in form and meaning.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Grieved for the loss of some good; pained for some evil; feeling regret; --now generally used to express light grief or affliction, but formerly often used to express deeper feeling. "I am sorry for my sins." Piers Plowman.
- adjective Melancholy; dismal; gloomy; mournful. Spenser.
Etymology [OE. sory, sary, AS. sarig, fr. sar, n., sore. See Sore, n. & a. The original sense was, painful; hence. miserable, sad.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sorry”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details