Crossword Genius

Followers regret painful remark and make minor improvements (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

retouch

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'followers regret' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for retouch that I've seen before include "Paint over" , "Make slight improvements to (a photo/picture)" , "Improve a photo, with a pencil say" , "Repair a painting" , "Fine-tune" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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