Regret

Part of a series on
Emotions
Acceptance Affection Amusement Anger Angst Anguish Annoyance Anticipation Anxiety Apathy Arousal Awe Boredom Confidence Contentment Courage Cruelty Curiosity Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Distrust Ecstasy Embarrassment Empathy Enthusiasm Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Gratification Gratitude Greed Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Horror Hostility Humiliation Interest Jealousy Kindness Loneliness Love Lust Nostalgia Outrage Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Rejection Remorse Resentment Sadness Saudade Schadenfreude Self-confidence Shame Shock Shyness Social connection Sorrow Suffering Surprise Trust Wonder Worry

Regret is the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the effect of the decision were not good.

Regret is related to a missed opportunity. Its intensity changes over time after the decision.

Regret is different than remorse because people can regret things beyond their control, but remorse is about a sense of responsibility for the situation.

Regret Media

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  John Greenleaf Whittier's fictional heroine Maud Muller gazes into the distance, regretting her inaction and thinking about what might have been.

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  Apologizing for a store closure, showing regret or remorse