What's the difference between regret and wish?

Regret


Definition:

  • (v.) Pain of mind on account of something done or experienced in the past, with a wish that it had been different; a looking back with dissatisfaction or with longing; grief; sorrow; especially, a mourning on account of the loss of some joy, advantage, or satisfaction.
  • (v.) Dislike; aversion.
  • (v. t.) To experience regret on account of; to lose or miss with a sense of regret; to feel sorrow or dissatisfaction on account of (the happening or the loss of something); as, to regret an error; to regret lost opportunities or friends.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) "We absolutely regret the setbacks Kim Dotcom has had since MegaUpload was taken offline, but we hope he as an entrepreneur will understand our side of the story and the decisions deliberately taken."
  • (2) Whilst we deeply regret all these incidents and acknowledge that the care of these patients could have been better, this is a relatively low number of incidents for a hospital of this size,” it said in a statement.
  • (3) The local MP, Rory Stewart, a mover and shaker on the broadband project, told me that he was desperate to get telehealth into Cumbria, but regretfully felt that it was not immediately doable, because the local council and healthcare community did not yet have the necessary expertise.
  • (4) An innovative approach to treatment planning is described in which a planned dose distribution is evaluated in terms of prescribed limits of acceptability, and any discrepancies (referred to as "regions of regret") are displayed in the form of a contour diagram in which colors are used to represent different types and degrees of regret.
  • (5) The allegations come weeks after Top Gear executives expressed regret over a remark made by Clarkson on the show's Burma special, broadcast in March.
  • (6) We deeply regret any instance which led to the Financial Ombudsman Service receiving incorrect or incomplete information from us.” Clydesdale is now reviewing all PPI complaints handled before August 2014 and will pay redress to any affected customers.
  • (7) The other example is of a woman who had a child who died at the age of 10 and expressed no regrets, but when questioned about whether she would have continued a pregnancy knowingly aware the baby would die in 10 years, the woman replied that she could not imagine how anyone could be so strong as to bear a child knowing the brevity of its life.
  • (8) She insists she has no regrets about dedicating herself to the man millions admired but few really got to know.
  • (9) Of the 28 parents who did not see the body, 17 subsequently stated their regret.
  • (10) In the prime minister's reply, he said it was with "enormous regret that I accept your resignation as the member of parliament for Corby and East Northamptonshire, a seat that had been Labour for 13 years before you.
  • (11) "We regret that Congress was forced to waste its time voting on a foolish bill that was premised entirely on false claims and ignorance," David Jenkins, an REP official, said in a statement.
  • (12) "We regret this decision by the Russian government," a senior Obama administration official said.
  • (13) These cases may represent a small percentage of the many sterilization operations that are performed each year, yet the fact that tubal sterilization is performed primarily on fit young women for "nonmedical" reasons makes it all the more important that women who will come to regret the procedure are identified and advised against it.
  • (14) "I regret that these things which are speculative and are not signed off on should be the source of discussion in other quarters."
  • (15) A woman accused of being the only surviving member of a murderous German neo-Nazi cell that remained undetected for over a decade, has broken her silence for the first time telling a court she was not involved in the planning or carrying out of the attacks but that she regretted failing to prevent them.
  • (16) "There was clearly inappropriate behaviour by some of the other guests and I deeply regret that this happened.
  • (17) The pair’s barrister, Charanjit Jutla, said both men were of good character and deeply regretted their conduct.
  • (18) He pointed out that Labour had not introduced such a radical examination in 1997, something he now regretted.
  • (19) Stewart surely sees himself as a ­future minister, though he regrets telling one journalist he wanted to be.
  • (20) Rupert Murdoch has said he regrets that his papers have turned against prime minister Gordon Brown – but believes they are right to do so.

Wish


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To have a desire or yearning; to long; to hanker.
  • (v. t.) To desire; to long for; to hanker after; to have a mind or disposition toward.
  • (v. t.) To frame or express desires concerning; to invoke in favor of, or against, any one; to attribute, or cal down, in desire; to invoke; to imprecate.
  • (v. t.) To recommend; to seek confidence or favor in behalf of.
  • (n.) Desire; eager desire; longing.
  • (n.) Expression of desire; request; petition; hence, invocation or imprecation.
  • (n.) A thing desired; an object of desire.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) I wish to clarify that for the period 1998 to 2002 I was employed by Fifa to work on a wide range of matters relating to football,” Platini wrote.
  • (2) "The Republic genuinely wishes Northern Ireland well and that includes the 12.5% corporate tax rate," he said.
  • (3) When asked why the streets of London were not heaving with demonstrators protesting against Russia turning Aleppo into the Guernica of our times, Stop the War replied that it had no wish to add to the “jingoism” politicians were whipping up against plucky little Russia .
  • (4) Following the hypothesis that infertile patients may present emotional conflicts with regard to the wish of having a child, psychodynamic interviews were carried out with 116 infertile couples concomitantly with their first consultation at the Sterility Department.
  • (5) Last November he bluntly warned EU chiefs he could, if he wished, “flood Europe” with refugees.
  • (6) But I don't wish to be too hard on the judge for not taking that view.
  • (7) And any Labour commitment on spending is fatally undermined by their deficit amnesia.” Davey widened the attack on the Tories, following a public row this week between Clegg and Theresa May over the “snooper’s charter”, by accusing his cabinet colleague Eric Pickles of coming close to abusing his powers by blocking new onshore developments against the wishes of some local councils.
  • (8) This search represents movement beyond the significance of infantile wish-fulfillment aspects of religiosity toward the broader domain of ego functioning and quality of object relations.
  • (9) It’s clear which way the ultra-right community around Ukip wishes to go: their timelines are full of praise for Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders , and blazing with imagery – both real and fake – of migrant riots in France and Sweden.
  • (10) The content and dynamics of two 11-session psychotherapy groups led by physicians for 18 adult patients with insulin-dependent diabetes are described as a guide for others wishing to use this form of treatment.
  • (11) Management and treatment issues are surveyed, such as the necessity to recognize that in some adolescents violence erupts not from narcissitic rage but from strong wishes for affectionate contact.
  • (12) "Plymouth Argyle is a proper football club and I wish them well," said Hughton.
  • (13) Many cases before the commissioner remain unresolved, although those who wish to pursue matters to the tribunal as part of the transitional arrangements will not have to pay an additional fee to appeal to the tribunal.
  • (14) It is indispensable to establish a close cooperation between the public health authorities and the private physician, and we therefore wish to sincerely thank all colleagues and Public Health Officers for their collaboration.
  • (15) An accurate portrait of BLS and ACLS instructors is crucial for organizations such as the American Heart Association if they wish to attract and retain instructors.
  • (16) If you can't give them everything at once, you may be able to satisfy at least some of the items on their wish list.
  • (17) Despite fulfilling a boyhood wish to play for Milan when he returned to Italy, the striker admitted he erred in taking his career back to Serie A, having had a controversial spell at Internazionale before City recruited him for £17.5m in August 2010.
  • (18) We wish to thank once again all the Chinese people and people around the world who have supported Beijing 2022 in this extraordinary bid journey.” Earlier, the president Xi threw his weight behind China’s bid, promising the “strongest support” for the Beijing Games in a one-minute video address to the IOC delegates.
  • (19) Fitzgibbon notes that these documents had been tabled contrary to the wishes of the defence sub-commitee.
  • (20) Early work showed a relationship between these two molecules, which we wished to further document, in particular because of the growing realization of the functional importance of CD28 in some T cell activation pathways.