REGRETFULLY


Meaning of REGRETFULLY in English

/ rɪˈgretfəli; NAmE / adverb

1.

in a way that shows you are sad or disappointed about sth :

'I'm afraid not,' he said regretfully.

Emma shook her head regretfully.

2.

used to show that you are sorry that sth is the case and you wish the situation were different

SYN regrettably :

Regretfully, mounting costs have forced the museum to close.

••

WHICH WORD

regretfully / regrettably

Regretfully and regrettably can both be used as sentence adverbs to show that you are sorry about something and wish the situation were different:

Regretfully, some jobs will be lost.

Regrettably, some jobs will be lost.

Regretfully can also be used to mean 'in a way that shows you are sad or disappointed about something':

He sighed regretfully.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.