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. Ye were made sorry after a godly manner. 2 Cor. vii. 9. I am sorry for thee, friend; 't is the duke's pleasure. Shak. She entered, were he lief or sorry. Spenser.
Melancholy; dismal; gloomy; mournful. Spenser. All full of chirking was this sorry place. Chaucer.
Poor; mean; worthless; as, a sorry excuse. "With sorry grace." Chaucer. Cheeks of sorry grain will serve. Milton. Good fruit will sometimes grow on a sorry tree. Sir W. Scott.
98,828 entries. Headwords are matched first, then definition text.