regret
/ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/
"regret" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“regret” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,838 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #3,838
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | regret |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #3,838 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “regret” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for regret is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,838 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for regret, with forms such as "ergret", "regert", and "reggret". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "reset", "retreat", "regent", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English regretten, regreten, from Old French regreter, regrater (“to lament”), from re- (intensive prefix) + *greter, *grater (“to weep”), from Frankish *grātan (“to weep, mourn, lament”), from Proto-Germanic *grētaną (“to weep”), from Proto-Ind… The correct English form is regret, spelled R-E-G-R-E-T.
Definition
- 1To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead.
- 2To feel sorry about (any thing).
- 3To miss; to feel the loss or absence of; to mourn.
Etymology
From Middle English regretten, regreten, from Old French regreter, regrater (“to lament”), from re- (intensive prefix) + *greter, *grater (“to weep”), from Frankish *grātan (“to weep, mourn, lament”), from Proto-Germanic *grētaną (“to weep”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁d- (“to sound”); and Frankish *greutan (“to cry, weep”), from Proto-Germanic *greutaną (“to weep, cry”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- (“to weep, be sad”), equivalent to re- + greet. Cognate with Old High German grāzan (“to cry”), Old English grǣtan (“to weep, greet”), Old English grēotan (“to weep, lament”), Old Norse gráta (“to weep, groan”), Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (grētan, “to weep”). More at greet.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ergret,regert,reggret,regrett,regrret,regrte,rerget,rgeret,rregret
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of regret - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “regret”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-G-R-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “reset” - see the side-by-side comparison. regret vs reset
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.