Meaning & use
rue the day
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Meaning
phraseidiom
To bitterly regret a past event or decision, especially because of its bad consequences.
Grammar: Often used as a warning with will or shall: you will rue the day.
Patterns
- rue the day (that) someone did something
- you'll rue the day
You will rue the day you ignored my advice.
He rued the day he lent his brother the money.
She rued the day she signed the contract without reading it.
Word forms
| third person singular | rues the day |
|---|---|
| past tense | rued the day |
| past participle | rued the day |
| -ing form | ruing the day |
Common combinations
- rue the day you
- They'll rue the day they underestimated us.
- live to rue the day
- If you cheat, you will live to rue the day.
- will rue the day
- The firm will rue the day it cut those jobs.
- rued the day when
- He rued the day when he left the village.
- ruing the day
- Ruing the day he sold, the farmer watched prices soar.
Synonyms and how they differ
- regret
- Regret is the plain, everyday word, while rue the day is more dramatic and often a threat.
- lament
- Lament means to express deep sadness aloud, whereas rue the day suggests a private, bitter regret.
- repent
- Repent has a moral or religious sense of feeling sorry for wrongdoing, which rue the day does not require.
- curse the day
- Curse the day adds anger, while rue the day centers on regret.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: rue the day or rue (the plant)? rue the day or ruin?
rue the day vs rue (the plant)
Rue is also a small herb with bitter leaves, which is a different word with the same spelling.
rue the day vs ruin
Ruin means to destroy or spoil, whereas rue means to regret.
Practice
He will ___ the day he ignored her warning.
Choose one answer.
Rue the day is the fixed phrase meaning to regret bitterly. Ruin and rule look similar but do not form the idiom, and reap does not fit the phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rue the day”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.