impenitent

American  

[im-pen-i-tuhnt] / ɪmˈpɛn ɪ tənt /

adjective

1. not feeling regret about one's sin or sins; obdurate.

   Synonyms:

   hardened, uncontrite, unrepentant

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impenitent British  

/ ɪmˈpɛnɪtənt /

adjective

1. not sorry or penitent; unrepentant

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Other Word Forms

• impenitence
  noun
• impenitency
  noun
• impenitently
  adverb
• impenitentness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of impenitent

1525–35; < Late Latin impaenitent- (stem of impaenitēns ) unrepentant. See im- ², penitent

Explanation

To be impenitent is to have no remorse or regrets. Your brother was impenitent when he ate the cupcakes that you had baked for your club fundraiser. Not nice. The word repent is hiding in impenitent. When you repent, you regret or feel sorry about something you've done. Impenitent and repent share the Latin root penitire meaning "to regret," but add im- meaning "not" for impenitent and you've got the opposite: "to not regret or repent." A criminal who is impenitent about feels no shame about what he's done.

Example Sentences

Different Views concerning the Condition of the Impenitent hereafter.§

From Orthodoxy: Its Truths And Errors by Clarke, James Freeman

"The Wretched," one of the artist's masterpieces, was exhibited here in 1903, and along with it went "The Impenitent Thief."

From Women of Achievement Written for the Fireside Schools by Brawley, Benjamin Griffith

Dexter, H. M.—Verdict of Reason on the question of the Impenitent Dead.

From History of Rationalism Embracing a Survey of the Present State of Protestant Theology by Hurst, J. F. (John Fletcher)

Impenitent, im-pen′i-tent, adj. not repenting of sin.—n. one who does not repent: a hardened sinner.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

"The Impenitent Thief," admitted to the Salon along with "The Wretched," was demolished in 1904, after being subjected to a series of unhappy accidents.

From The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States by Brawley, Benjamin Griffith