Remorseful means feeling deep regret and guilt about something wrong you've done. When you're remorseful, you genuinely wish you could undo your mistake and feel truly sorry for any hurt you caused.

A remorseful student who copied homework doesn't just regret getting caught: they feel truly bad about being dishonest and letting down their teacher and themselves. Someone remorseful about breaking a friend's treasured possession doesn't make excuses or try to minimize what happened. Instead, they acknowledge the harm they caused and sincerely apologize.

The word captures something deeper than simply saying “sorry” to avoid punishment. Remorse is that uncomfortable, heavy feeling in your chest when you know you've done something wrong, when you lie awake thinking about how your actions hurt someone else. A truly remorseful person doesn't just feel bad about the consequences they face, but about the actual harm their actions caused.

You might hear about criminals showing remorse in court, or read about characters in stories who become remorseful after realizing how their choices affected others. The feeling of remorse often motivates people to make things right: to apologize sincerely, to fix what they broke, or to change their behavior going forward.