repent

[ ri-pent ]

/ rɪˈpɛnt /

verb (used without object)

to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc. (often followed by of): He repented after his thoughtless act.

to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent.

verb (used with object)

to remember or regard with self-reproach or contrition: to repent one's injustice to another.

to feel sorry for; regret: to repent an imprudent act.

Words nearby repent

repeating decimal, repeating firearm, repechage, repel, repellent, repent, repentance, repentant, repentigny, repeople, repercussion

Origin of repent

1250–1300; Middle English repenten < Old French repentir, equivalent to re- re- + pentir to feel sorrow (< Latin paenitēre to regret, be sorry); see penitent

OTHER WORDS FROM repent

re·pent·er, nounre·pent·ing·ly, adverbun·re·pent·ed, adjectiveun·re·pent·ing, adjective

un·re·pent·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for repented

And, eventually, who repented – famously on television during a remarkable series of interviews with David Frost.
Three Dicks: Cheney, Nixon, Richard III and the Art of Reputation Rehab|Clive Irving|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What worries him is the idea of taking hope away from someone who has repented of a terrible deed he did decades earlier.
When Salinger Spoke Out: A Rare 1959 Public Letter Against Life in Prison|Nicolaus Mills|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“I have no doubt in my mind that these men have repented,” Barbour said in an appearance on Fox News.
Haley Barbour’s Last-Minute Pardons Hurt the GOP’s Law-and-Order Image|Linda Killian|January 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Hindley claimed to have repented and this is why Longford campaigned against her life sentence, she explains.
Antonia Fraser on Her Wild Marriage|Amanda Foreman|November 8, 2010|DAILY BEAST

In 2007, Dowd publicly repented and said he was considering a life of missionary work.
I Survived the Bush Presidency|The Daily Beast|January 8, 2009|DAILY BEAST
An evil action may not be repeated, and can be repented of; but evil thoughts generate all evil actions.
Resurrection|Leo Tolstoy
It would have been more honest and more manly if you had declared at once that you repented of your engagement.
The American Senator|Anthony Trollope
By the time that they reached Anglebury he repented having given way so far as to withhold a direct refusal.
The Hand of Ethelberta|Thomas Hardy
It was such a grim sort of an oh that I repented some more, though indeed it was not necessary.
Beatrice Leigh at College|Julia Augusta Schwartz
"Oh, it is not that I have repented of my evil deed, Olive," she returned.
The Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge|Margaret Vandercook

British Dictionary definitions for repented (1 of 2)

repent¹

/ (rɪˈpɛnt) /

verb

to feel remorse (for); be contrite (about); show penitence (for)he repents of his extravagance; he repented his words

Derived forms of repent

repenter, noun

Word Origin for repent

C13: from Old French repentir from re- + pentir to be contrite, from Latin paenitēre to repent

British Dictionary definitions for repented (2 of 2)

repent²

/ (ˈriːpənt) /

adjective

botany lying or creeping along the ground; reptantrepent stems

Word Origin for repent

C17: from Latin rēpere to creep

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

repent

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Words related to repent

Words nearby repent

Origin of repent

OTHER WORDS FROM repent

Examples from the Web for repented

British Dictionary definitions for repented (1 of 2)

verb

Derived forms of repent

Word Origin for repent

British Dictionary definitions for repented (2 of 2)

adjective

Word Origin for repent