sorry

[sor-ee, sawr-ee] /ˈsɒr i, ˈsɔr i/
adjective, sorrier, sorriest.
1.
feeling regret, compunction, sympathy, pity, etc.:
to be sorry to leave one's friends; to be sorry for a remark; to be sorry for someone in trouble.
2.
regrettable or deplorable; unfortunate; tragic:
a sorry situation; to come to a sorry end.
3.
sorrowful, grieved, or sad:
Was she sorry when her brother died?
4.
associated with sorrow; suggestive of grief or suffering; melancholy; dismal.
5.
wretched, poor, useless, or pitiful:
a sorry horse.
6.
(used interjectionally as a conventional apology or expression of regret):
Sorry, you're misinformed. Did I bump you? Sorry.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English sārig; cognate with Low German sērig, Old High German sērag. See sore, -y1
Related forms
sorrily, adverb
sorriness, noun
unsorry, adjective
Synonyms
1. regretful, sympathetic, pitying. 3. unhappy, depressed, sorrowing. 4. grievous, mournful, painful. 5. abject, contemptible, paltry, worthless, shabby. See wretched.
Antonyms
1. happy.
Examples from the web for sorry
  • He's happy about the job he got, but is definitely sorry he missed the opportunity to be considered for the other position.
  • sorry but this does not make sense the way this is being forced in the media and constantly the number one science topic.
  • And you can arrange your miniature street people in your miniature town square without feeling sorry for them.
  • Fauna, we're sorry to say, seems to have lost her queen.
  • sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of weeks.
  • sorry for the length, hopefully this fits the topic of research questions.
  • The rigours of today's schedule are chiefly to blame for the sorry condition of the sport's elite.
  • sorry boys, but you are not smart enough to do this.
  • Honestly, humanity in general is a sad and sorry race.
  • sorry that the blogging has been sparse of late been busy with work, some travel, and summertime good times.
British Dictionary definitions for sorry

sorry

/ˈsɒrɪ/
adjective -rier, -riest
1.
(usually postpositive) often foll by for. feeling or expressing pity, sympathy, remorse, grief, or regret: I feel sorry for him
2.
pitiful, wretched, or deplorable: a sorry sight
3.
poor; paltry: a sorry excuse
4.
affected by sorrow; sad
5.
causing sorrow or sadness
interjection
6.
an exclamation expressing apology, used esp at the time of the misdemeanour, offence, etc
Derived Forms
sorrily, adverb
sorriness, noun
Word Origin
Old English sārig; related to Old High German sērag; see sore
Word Origin and History for sorry
adj.

Old English sarig "distressed, grieved, full of sorrow" (not found in the physical sense of "sore"), from Proto-Germanic *sairiga- "painful" (cf. Old Saxon serag, Middle Dutch seerigh "sore; sad, sorry," Dutch zeerig "sore, full of sores," Old High German serag, Swedish sårig "sore, full of sores"), from *sairaz "pain" (physical and mental); related to *saira- "suffering, sick, ill" (see sore (adj.)). Meaning "wretched, worthless, poor" first recorded mid-13c. Spelling shift from -a- to -o- by influence of sorrow. Apologetic sense (short for I'm sorry) is attested from 1834; phrase sorry about that popularized 1960s by U.S. TV show "Get Smart." Related: Sorrily; sorriness.

Slang definitions & phrases for sorry

sorry

adjective

Wretched; worthless; inferior; half-assed: this one kid, and he was a sorry shit/ The reputation of the Barclay has been one of sorry-ass service/ One more sorry-ass useless killing (entry form 1250+, variant 1970s+)


Idioms and Phrases with sorry

sorry

see: better safe than sorry