shouldn't've
Ought to have avoided
Shouldn't've is a double contraction of "should not have," expressing that something was inadvisable or mistaken in retrospect: I shouldn't've eaten that second slice of cake.
Common in speech but rarely written except in dialogue or informal contexts.
The spelling captures how people actually pronounce the phrase.
Recognition after the fact
- mistakeWrong action or decision
- remorseGuilt for wrongdoing
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- errorFault in communication
misjudgment · blunder · lament · wished · rethink · second-guessing · rueful · apologetic
Departing from established norms
- auxiliaryGiving additional support
- modalPertaining to form
- negationDenial or cancellation
- apostropheMark showing ownership
elision · dialect · prescriptivism · descriptivism · conjugation · ought · couldn't've · wouldn't've
Alert about danger
- forbiddenNot allowed
- inadvisableNot worth doing
- improperLacking in propriety
- wrongContrary to fact
taboo · off-limits · restricted · cautionary · ill-advised · unwise · inappropriate · discouraged
hindsight
Recognition after the fact
error · misjudgment · blunder · lament · wished · rethink · second-guessing · rueful · apologetic · self-reproach
nonstandard
Departing from established norms
apostrophe · elision · dialect · prescriptivism · descriptivism · conjugation · ought · couldn't've · wouldn't've
warning
Alert about danger
- forbiddenNot allowed
- inadvisableNot worth doing
- improperLacking in propriety
wrong · taboo · off-limits · restricted · cautionary · ill-advised · unwise · inappropriate · discouraged · unacceptable