Sorriest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The condition of being extremely apologetic or remorseful is the utmost expression of regret for one's actions or circumstances while showcasing profound contrition or sorrow
2. Feeling the deepest level of regret or sorrow for a wrongdoing or misfortune
3. Experiencing the utmost degree of guilt or sadness about a particular fault or situation

Etymology: "Sorriest" is the superlative of "sorry", and the surprise is that "sorry" has nothing to do with "sorrow", despite looking and feeling like it. The two words only seem related because their meanings overlap. "Sorry" descends from Old English "sāriġ", meaning grieved, sad, or mournful, which came from a Proto-Germanic root "*sairagaz" meaning sad. That older root carries a physical sense, too. Its Proto-Indo-European ancestor meant hard, rough, or painful, and the same family survives in German dialect "sehrig" meaning sore, and in Low German "serig", which meant sick or scabby. The sense of pain on the body and the sense of grief in the mind grew out of one shared stem, and English kept both: "sorry" once described a wound as readily as a mood. Modern English "sorry" is therefore a surface-level formation from "sore" plus the suffix "-y", even though the two words are not really connected through that route. Its superlative, "sorriest", carries the same meaning forward into the sense of deepest regret.

Synonyms: most apologetic, most regretful, most contrite, most remorseful, most pitiful

Antonyms: proudest, haughtiest, most unrepentant, most defiant, most shameless