ruing the day

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiom

   Feeling deep regret about something that happened on a particular day, especially a decision that caused trouble.

   Grammar: Used after verbs like live to, be, or spend: 'he will live to rue the day'. The phrase itself does not change form.

   Patterns

   • live to rue the day
   • be ruing the day
   • spend years ruing the day

   She will live to rue the day she trusted that salesman.

   They are still ruing the day they sold the family farm.

   I spent years ruing the day I dropped out of college.

2. 2phraseidiom

   Wishing that a past event had never happened because of the bad results it brought.

   Grammar: Often used in the continuous form with be: 'he is ruing the day'. It describes an ongoing feeling, not a single action.

   Patterns

   • rue the day something happened
   • be ruing the day

   The manager is ruing the day he signed that contract.

   Voters may soon rue the day they backed the new law.

   He rued the day he ever met her.

Common combinations

live to rue the day

If you ignore the warning, you will live to rue the day.

rue the day you were born

The villain made him rue the day he was born.

still ruing the day

She is still ruing the day she lent him money.

rue the day something happened

Many people rued the day the factory closed.

Synonyms and how they differ

regret

A general verb for feeling sorry about something; 'rue the day' is stronger and always tied to a specific day or event.

bemoan

Means to complain or express sadness about something; it is more formal and less personal than 'rue the day'.

Opposites

Word family

rueful adjective

Showing regret or sadness, often with a slight smile: 'a rueful laugh'.

ruefully adverb

In a way that shows regret: 'he smiled ruefully'.

Commonly confused: ruing the day or rue?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ruing the day”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words