ˈrüfəl adjective
Etymology: Middle English rewful, from rewe rue + -ful
1. : exciting pity or sympathy : pitiable , woeful
rueful squalid poverty that crawled by every wayside — John Morley
2. : feeling or expressing sorrow or pity : mournful , regretful , sad
troubled her with a rueful disquiet — W.M.Thackeray
often : quizzically mournful
looked up … with a rueful grin — Elmer Davis