How to Use regretfully in a Sentence

regretfully

adverb
  • I must regretfully decline your invitation.
  • Regretfully many of the flower buds are going to be lost but some might be saved with good care.
    — Tom MacCubbin, OrlandoSentinel.com, 3 June 2017
  • Next to him sits Saban, who seems to be looking off regretfully into space.
    — Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
  • Aaron Rodgers was, regretfully, our second outright miss of the season.
    — Kevin Acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, 19 Oct. 2017
  • The polite way to decline an invite to a wedding is to wish them well, thank them for inviting you and regretfully decline.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Better to choose one wedding and regretfully decline the other.
    — Washington Post, 20 June 2021
  • Colin has been rather bland in the first two seasons, and regretfully Newton's performance hasn't done much to give him life.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 16 May 2024
  • Many people will see this as such a story and for that reason, this narrative is one that is, regretfully, evergreen.
    — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 7 Aug. 2019
  • Many new home buyers regretfully don't realize that the limit on the taxable value does not apply to the home the year after it is sold.
    — Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024
  • Thankfully for the dogs, but regretfully for the plot, Cruella reveals that the coat is made of synthetic fur.
    — Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, 29 May 2021
  • Your email included a list of insecticides used that do give control but regretfully not all the pests are eliminated.
    — Tom MacCubbin, Orlando Sentinel, 15 June 2024
  • Three times this has happened to me; once, regretfully, the charge was led by Herr Doktor, who at least was playing a practical joke.
    — Marc Peruzzi, Outside Online, 15 May 2018
  • This pig's companion was named, Mike told us regretfully, Miss Piggy.
    — Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 25 Jan. 2012
  • Following the breakup, the father of six headed to Las Vegas, where he’s regretfully turned to a life of gambling.
    — Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, 18 Aug. 2017
  • The new city manager, who makes a fraction of her predecessor, has regretfully received some very ugly messages.
    — Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 18 June 2024
  • In the bit, host Jimmy Fallon regretfully informed the audience that the singer would no longer be appearing as promised.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2024
  • The album thematically traces a breakup, with Laroi looking back regretfully on his and a partner’s mistakes.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 6 May 2021
  • In this story, as the dancers draw their hands regretfully toward their faces, a hateful authoritarian symbol is transformed.
    — Rachel Howard, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Feb. 2026
  • DeWine, who regretfully admitted to having talked on his phone while driving in the past, called for a change in culture to make the use of phones while driving unacceptable.
    — al, 13 Feb. 2020
  • But Hinton has come to think, regretfully, that digital intelligence might be more powerful.
    — Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Issa bitterly but regretfully prepares for the inevitable showdown.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Pointing out Frank Sinatra, Stoppard said regretfully that the signature had faded from too much sunlight.
    — Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2022
  • However, the entertainment on the pitch might regretfully be overshadowed by events in the stands by the behaviour of visiting supporters, .
    — SI.com, 19 Oct. 2017
  • Regretfully, all my relatives are still alive, so my fitness regimen still requires frequent nocturnal visits to the graveyard for my homemade protein powder.
    — John Brownlee, WIRED, 15 May 2007
  • Their reports explained regretfully that the confrontation had prevented two officers from receiving awards for shooting burglars.
    — Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The intensity of the sun, the island doctor tells me regretfully, requires scrupulous acclimatization.
    — Rachel Cusk, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Feb. 2017
  • Coming Band rocked the hall with a string of Motown favorites, and as the dance floor filled up, the Observer regretfully rounded up his coterie to head up and across the bay for the second event of the evening.
    — al, 6 Feb. 2023
  • The four-part series is a powerful and haunting addition to the streamer’s onslaught of true-crime fare, capturing a place and time that many Angelenos regretfully claim as part of their city’s collective history.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2023
  • In spite of continuous medical treatment, Ed is regretfully still without a voice and unable to perform tonight’s show at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 25 July 2022
  • The Queen has regretfully canceled several official engagements recently, on her doctors' medical advice.
    — Iris Goldsztajn, Marie Claire, 3 Nov. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'regretfully.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: