- Sorry
- Sorry Sor"ry, a. [Compar. {Sorrier}; superl. {Sorriest}.] [OE.
sory, sary, AS. s[=a]rig, fr. s[=a]r, n., sore. See {Sore},
n. & a. The original sense was, painful; hence, miserable,
sad.]
1. Grieved for the loss of some good; pained for some evil;
feeling regret; -- now generally used to express light
grief or affliction, but formerly often used to express
deeper feeling. ``I am sorry for my sins.'' --Piers
Plowman.
[1913 Webster]
Ye were made sorry after a godly manner. --2 Cor. vii. 9. [1913 Webster]
I am sorry for thee, friend; 't is the duke's pleasure. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
She entered, were he lief or sorry. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
2. Melancholy; dismal; gloomy; mournful. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
All full of chirking was this sorry place. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
3. Poor; mean; worthless; as, a sorry excuse. ``With sorry grace.'' --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
Cheeks of sorry grain will serve. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Good fruit will sometimes grow on a sorry tree. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
Syn: Hurt; afflicted; mortified; vexed; chagrined; melancholy; dismal; poor; mean; pitiful. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
