sorry
Formssorries, sorrying, sorried
- 1Said to apologize or express regret for something one has done, whether on purpose or by accident.
Sorry, I completely forgot about our meeting.
Sorry for what I said last night. I was angry, and it was unfair.
UsageUse for or about to name the fault: sorry for what I said, sorry about yesterday. I'm terribly sorry sounds more serious.
Similarapologies
Note
Said on its own, the bare word does the work of a whole apology, for a deliberate wrong or a simple accident alike. It often leads into what it apologizes for, as in "sorry for" or "sorry about." British slang clips it further to soz, which belongs to casual talk and messages.
- 2Feeling regret about one's actions, or wishing to apologize for them.
She was genuinely sorry for the trouble she had caused at the office.
They seemed sorry about missing the ceremony.
UsageFollowed by for, about or that: sorry for the trouble, sorry that I forgot.
Similarapologetic, regretful, remorseful, repentant, penitent
Oppositeunrepentant, unapologetic, remorseless
- 3Said to soften a statement that might come across as blunt, rude, or unwelcome.
Sorry, but I think you've got the facts wrong here.
Sorry, I'm going to have to say no to this one.
UsageUse Sorry, but before a disagreement or refusal: Sorry, but I disagree. Tone affects whether it sounds polite or curt.
Similarapologies
Note
The word does not really express regret here. It works as a cushion placed in front of something blunt, such as a disagreement, a correction or a refusal, and usually comes first, followed by but or a pause. The politeness of the plain apology is borrowed to make the hard part easier to hear.
- 4Moved to pity or compassion for someone who is in difficulty or has had bad luck, usually followed by for.
Everyone felt sorry for the family whose house burned down last winter.
She was too proud to let anyone feel sorry for her after the layoffs.
UsageUsed with for: feel sorry for someone. Feel sorry for yourself means wallowing in self-pity.
Note
This meaning points the feeling at someone else's trouble or bad luck rather than at regret for one's own actions, and it is usually followed by for: people feel sorry for a family that lost its home. Pity can also sound condescending, which is why a proud person resists being felt sorry for.
- 5Feeling grief or sadness, especially over the loss of someone or something.
The whole town was sorry to lose its beloved librarian.
I was so sorry to learn of your grandfather's passing.
UsageUsed in sorry to hear and sorry to lose. I'm sorry for your loss is a common expression of sympathy after a death.
Similarmournful, melancholy
Note
This is the oldest feeling in the word. Old English sāriġ meant grieved or sorrowful, from a root meaning "hard, rough, painful." It is used especially about a loss, often in sorry to hear or sorry to lose. Despite the resemblance, the word is unrelated to sorrow.
- 6In a poor, pitiful, or wretched state; so bad as to deserve pity or scorn.
The refugees arrived in a sorry condition after the long journey.
The once-grand hotel had fallen into a sorry state of decay.
UsageUsually before a noun: a sorry state, a sorry sight, in a sorry condition.
- 7An apology; the act of expressing regret to someone.
All she wanted was a sincere sorry from her brother.
His mumbled sorry did little to mend the friendship.
Similarapology
Note
As a countable noun, the apology becomes something you can offer, tailor or even perform. Christopher Levan, in Give Us This Day (2007), imagines that Latinos would dance their sorries, and Lucy S. Danziger (2008) advises tailoring sorries to the sexes. The plural is spelled sorries or sorrys.
Less common meanings
- 8
- 9Said to correct a mistake one has just made in speaking.
The meeting is on Thursday, sorry, Friday afternoon.
He's her uncle, sorry, her cousin; I always mix the two up.
Similarrather
- 10Said to ask someone to let you move past or by them.
Sorry, I just need to get by to reach the exit.
Sorry, may I pass? My stop is coming up next.
UsageExcuse me is also common here.
Similarpardon
- 11To feel pity or sympathy for someone, especially in their misfortune.
Jus' that once I sorried for her. Souls cross the skies o' time, Abbess'd say, like clouds crossin' skies o' the world.
2004, David Mitchell, Cloud AtlasSimilarpity, sympathize, commiserate
Note
A rare verb that turns the adjective into an action: to sorry for someone is to feel sorry for them. David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas (2004) puts it in a dialect voice: Jus' that once I sorried for her.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- David Mitchell wrote Cloud Atlas. thebookerprizes.com
- Cloud Atlas was first published in 2004. themorgan.org
- The novel contains the quoted sentence in a fictional dialect voice. en.wiktionary.org
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
This word comes from Middle English "sory" and Old English "sāriġ," meaning grieved, sad, or sorrowful. It traces back through Proto-Germanic "*sairagaz" (sad) to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "hard, rough, painful." Despite the resemblance, it is unrelated to "sorrow."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Sorry descends from Middle English sory and Old English sāriġ. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English sāriġ meant grieved, sad, or sorrowful. en.wiktionary.org
- The ancestry includes Proto-Germanic *sairagaz, meaning sad. en.wiktionary.org
- The proposed Proto-Indo-European ancestor meant hard, rough, painful. en.wiktionary.org
- Sorry and sorrow are not historically related. en.wiktionary.org