regrettably
adverb
regrettably is spelled R-E-G-R-E-T-T-A-B-L-Y: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, regrettably means “In a manner inspiring or deserving regret” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in regrettably?
| Letters | 11: R-E-G-R-E-T-T-A-B-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is regrettably?
Regrettably appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce regrettably?
- US
Regrettably has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-regrettably.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of regrettably
- more regrettably comparative
- most regrettably superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does regrettably mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a manner inspiring or deserving regret.
Your exam results are regrettably poor: you should regretfully reflect on all the time wasted reading comics.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Regrettably in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a manner inspiring or deserving regret:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | bedauerlicherweise |
| Portuguese | lamentavelmente |
| Spanish | lamentablemente, desgraciadamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.