Gutted is informal British English for “crushed”, “really upset”: I was gutted when the concert was cancelled. It's stronger than disappointed. About a building, gutted means something else, burnt or stripped out inside: the building was gutted by fire. In neutral writing, say deeply disappointed.
Could you drop gutted into a text?
Write a short message — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
be / feel gutted; be gutted that + clause; gutted about + noun
- I was gutted when the final performance was cancelled.
- She felt absolutely gutted about missing her sister's exhibition.
- We were gutted that the old cinema would close.
What changed
First versionI was gutting when I lost the photographs from the trip.
RevisionI was gutted when I lost the photographs from the trip.
As with bored and boring, -ed and -ing are easy to mix up here. For a person's feelings, use gutted: I was gutted. Gutting describes what causes the feeling (a gutting defeat) or the action of the verb gut.
Disappointed is calmer. Upset is unhappy, without the sense of shattered hopes. Gutted is disappointment so strong it feels like something inside has been torn out.
Your turn
Choose the adjective for extreme disappointment: She felt ___ when the trip was cancelled.
Show the answer
gutted — For a person's feelings, use gutted: she felt gutted. Gutting describes what upsets you: a gutting result.
Describe a cancellation or loss that really upset you. Use was gutted and explain why it mattered.
I was gutted when the exhibition closed early because I had travelled a long way to see it.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.