penitent

[ pen-i-tuhnt ]

/ ˈpɛn ɪ tənt /

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See synonyms for: penitent / penitents on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

noun

a penitent person.

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

OTHER WORDS FOR penitent

1 remorseful, rueful, sorrowful.

See synonyms for penitent on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR penitent

1 unrepentant, impenitent.

See antonyms for penitent on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM penitent

pen·i·tent·ly, adverbnon·pen·i·tent, adjective, nounun·pen·i·tent, adjectiveun·pen·i·tent·ly, adverb

Words nearby penitent

peninsulate, Peninsula War, penis, penis envy, penitence, penitent, Penitente, penitential, penitential Psalm, penitentiary, Penki

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use penitent in a sentence

Messages also came from “los arrepentidos,” the penitents—people who said they’d been involved in the burials and were moved to confess.
The mothers of Mexico’s missing use social media to search for mass graves|Chantal Flores|October 11, 2022|MIT Technology Review
The administrator’s caravan charted a penitent itinerary along the Gulf Coast, calling on communities of color that the EPA has historically failed to protect.
The EPA Administrator Visited Cancer-Causing Air Pollution Hot Spots Highlighted by ProPublica and Promised Reforms|by Ava Kofman|November 24, 2021|ProPublica
In one scene, a penitent missus in a shapeless tube dress scratches her head and admits to having crashed the car.
Too Sexy for Brazil|Mac Margolis|October 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Still, that might not do it: not every believer, or even all members of the penitent, will be taken.
Your Guide to the End of the World|David A. Graham|May 20, 2011|DAILY BEAST

He would later say about his subway pictures that they were made in the “hands of a penitent spy and an apologetic voyeur.”
Furtive Photography|Philip Gefter|May 27, 2010|DAILY BEAST
His admonition last week to the Irish church repeatedly emphasised that heaven still awaits the penitent pedophile priest.
Prosecute the Pope|Geoffrey Robertson|April 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I was glad to learn that Mary Magdalene's penitent side was not the main attraction here.
Mary Magdalene and Me|Tracy Quan|November 10, 2009|DAILY BEAST
They are unquestionably penitent now; but then, you know, they have the recollection of very recent suffering fresh upon them.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
Note that the penitent is here supposed to address his own parish-priest.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
In this capacity, he assisted at the public confession of his penitent, Mme. Graslin, in the summer of 1844.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z|Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
It was also, probably, designed as a protest against the rigour of the Novatians in refusing reconciliation to penitent apostates.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
Discussions of the relative merits of The Fair Penitent and its source have been almost invariably acrimonious.
The Fatal Dowry|Philip Massinger

British Dictionary definitions for penitent

penitent

/ (ˈpɛnɪtənt) /

adjective

feeling regret for one's sins; repentant

noun

a person who is penitent

Christianity

a person who repents his sins and seeks forgiveness for them
RC Church a person who confesses his sins to a priest and submits to a penance imposed by him

Derived forms of penitent

penitence, nounpenitently, adverb

Word Origin for penitent

C14: from Church Latin paenitēns regretting, from paenitēre to repent, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

penitent

OTHER WORDS FOR penitent

OPPOSITES FOR penitent

Origin of penitent

OTHER WORDS FROM penitent

Words nearby penitent

Words related to penitent

How to use penitent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for penitent

Derived forms of penitent

Word Origin for penitent