contrite
[kuh n-trahyt, kon-trahyt]
- caused by or showing sincere remorse.
- filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement; penitent: a contrite sinner.
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Origin of contrite
Synonyms
See more synonyms for contrite on Thesaurus.com2. rueful, remorseful, repentant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for contrite
Contemporary Examples
But let's put partisan spin aside and accept Christie's contrite denials of personal knowledge at face value.
And, while contrite, she very coolly shrugged her shoulders over the whole thing.
Is Reese Witherspoon’s Drunken Arrest the Best Thing to Happen to Her Career?Kevin Fallon
May 3, 2013
He is unfailingly polite and contrite, still slightly awkward with the artifice of campaigning after all these years.
Is he going to be contrite in the way that some people would like him to be contrite?
On Tuesday, an emotional and contrite Guillen went before the cameras and apologized for more than an hour for his remarks.
Historical Examples
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
An Explanation of Luther's Small CatechismJoseph Stump
Her's was "a broken and a contrite heart," and of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed, a thousand times blessed, will be the outpouring of a contrite heart.
The Shadow of a CrimeHall Caine
He often sat with her now, watching her for hours, puzzled and anxious, but not contrite.
Where Angels Fear to TreadE. M. Forster
Has ravening aspiration any compunction; any contrite visitings of nature?
The StrollersFrederic S. Isham
contrite
- full of guilt or regret; remorseful
- arising from a sense of shame or guiltcontrite promises
- theol remorseful for past sin and resolved to avoid future sin
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin contrītus worn out, from conterere to bruise, from terere to grind
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for contrite
adj.
c.1300, from Old French contrit and directly from Latin contritus, literally "worn out, ground to pieces," past participle of conterere "to grind," from com- "together" (see com-) + terere "to rub" (see throw (v.)). Used in English in figurative sense of "crushed in spirit by a sense of sin." Related: Contritely.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper