Self-conscious guilt
Sorry
Also known as apologetic
Strength 1 of 4
A light pang about something you did that touched someone else, with an easy wish to acknowledge it and put things right.
In the body
- A softening in the face
- A small wince
- A pull to reach out or speak
Needs behind it
When these needs aren’t met
Softer and stronger
- Sorry
- Guilty
- Regretful
- Remorseful
Often confused with
Guilty
Sorry is a light pang with an easy wish to put things right; guilty carries a heavier, nagging sense of having gone against your own values.
Sympathetic
Sorry is regret for your own part in something; sympathetic is feeling for someone else’s trouble that you did not cause.