penitent

American  

[pen-i-tuhnt] / ˈpɛn ɪ tənt /

adjective

1. feeling or expressing sorrow for sin or wrongdoing and disposed to atonement and amendment; repentant; contrite.

   Synonyms:

   sorrowful, rueful, remorseful

   Antonyms:

   impenitent, unrepentant

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noun

• penitents
  plural

1. a penitent person.

2. Roman Catholic Church. a person who confesses sin and submits to a penance.

penitent British  

/ ˈpɛnɪtənt /

adjective

1. feeling regret for one's sins; repentant

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noun

1. a person who is penitent

2. Christianity

   1. a person who repents his sins and seeks forgiveness for them

   2. RC Church a person who confesses his sins to a priest and submits to a penance imposed by him

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• penitence
  noun
• nonpenitent
  adjective
• unpenitent
  adjective
• penitently
  adverb
• unpenitently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• penitents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of penitent

1325–75; Middle English < Medieval Latin pēnitent-, Latin paenitent- (stem of paenitēns ), present participle of paenitēre to regret; replacing Middle English penaunt < Anglo-French; see penance

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Explanation

Penitent means deeply sorry, ashamed, and full of remorse. If you feel sorry––or just want to appear to––you should adopt a penitent manner. Penitent comes from the Latin word paenitere, which means to repent. It can be either noun or adjective. Though it's not restricted to them, penitent often pops up in religious contexts, particularly as a noun, as in, "The penitent threw herself at the bishop's feet and begged forgiveness for her sins."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

penitent penitents

The penitent Magdalene was a popular subject in Artemisia’s day, and several versions of the painting exist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

So then—can an inanimate tool such as this typewriter be penitent, reformed, and redeemed from the original sin of its creation?

From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2024

He told me forgiveness and redemption, according to Christian teaching, "are not something we can earn, except by being genuinely humble, genuinely penitent and totally sincere in our wish to be forgiven".

From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2022

In more recent years, Alfred Molina’s melancholic, David Suchet’s soulful innocent and John Malkovich’s penitent exile sought to dignify him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2022

I was always a penitent when I was close to a priest at confession.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Before attacking the city, the crusaders fasted and walked around its walls as penitents, an act that shows the blending of pilgrimage with armed conflict.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

The ceremonies see brotherhoods of “nazarenos,” or penitents, with tall conical hats, monkish robes and hoods carrying or escorting the magnificent carriages through ancient streets of cities and towns nationwide.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2023

Known as La Madrugá, or The Dawn, the procession features penitents who wear pointed black hoods and carry a float of the Virgin of Hope of Macarena from the city's cathedral.

From Reuters ● Apr. 15, 2022

Ms. Atlani-Duault, the commission member, said the group had not carried out a quantitative analysis that would show how often penitents were steered toward confession when discussing sexual abuse.

From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2021

On Holy Thursday, I brought my pan and towels along with the other penitents for washing the feet of the parishioners at the door of the church.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

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