repentant
Americanadjective
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repenting; penitent; experiencing repentance.
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characterized by or showing repentance.
a repentant mood.
adjective
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reproaching oneself for one's past actions or sins; contrite
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characterized by or proceeding from a sense of contrition
a repentant heart
his repentant words
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repentant
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English repentaunt, from Old French repentant, present participle of repentir; equivalent to repent 1 + -ant
Explanation
When people are repentant, they’re feeling or showing remorse. They're sorry and ashamed of something. If you take the last cookie and then lie about it, you’re probably going to feel repentant later, if you have a heart. If you’re feeling repentant, you’re ready to apologize because you know you did something wrong. It could be that you kissed your best friend’s sweetheart, or you broke some kind of religious rule that’s making you feel guilty. Either way, the best way to get over feeling repentant is to repent, or acknowledge what you’ve done and promise not to do it any more.
Vocabulary lists containing repentant
Grade 9, List 5
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Feeling Sorry?
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Divergent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The 1851 memoir, by contrast, was a spiritual redemption story, with Byfield tracing his progress from rebellious sinner to devout and repentant Christian."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Fourth, a question that has haunted chancelleries for several months: Is the new master of Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa, truly a repentant former member of al Qaeda?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
He added that he was truly repentant, promising directly to those affected: "I will repay you."
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2025
Some had arrived at Quinto’s page searching for a repentant statement in response to the public backlash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
“Okay, Yossarian,” she answered with a soft repentant laugh.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
