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

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

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

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

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

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 don’t know what came over me,” I blurted, penitent.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya