Definition of "regrettable" []

• Eliciting or deserving regret: a regrettable lack of funds; regrettable remarks. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "We remain at a high level of alert, but sometimes it is possible that they slip through our defences as they did in Pune, Mumbai and Delhi, which I described as regrettable 'blots' on our record…."
• "Now, first, I have to say that I admire Lord Hoffman's style, and am glad that someone else is as sceptical as I am of what he calls a regrettable tendency, and what I call human rightsism."
• "Top officials briefing the news media on what they call a regrettable mistake."