repent

[ri-pent]

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.

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

Related formsre·pent·er, nounre·pent·ing·ly, adverbun·re·pent·ed, adjectiveun·re·pent·ing, adjectiveun·re·pent·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for repented

atone, deplore, apologize, bewail, regret, reform, sorrow, lament, rue, relent

Examples from the Web for repented

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
“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
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
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

Historical Examples of repented

Mrs. Beaumont repented of having drawn her into conversation.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
One of the Creator's lamentable mistakes, repented in sashcloth and axes.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
"There, chicken—the heat always turns me snappy," she repented instantly.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
And she, therefore, repented of her rebellion as of a crime.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
The poor man looks as if he repented sincerely of his errors.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

British Dictionary definitions for repented

repent

verb

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

Derived Formsrepenter, noun

Word Origin for repent

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

repent

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

Word Origin and History for repented

repent

c.1300, "to feel such regret for sins or crimes as produces amendment of life," from Old French repentir (11c.), from re-, here probably an intensive prefix (see re-), + Vulgar Latin *penitire "to regret," from Latin poenitire "make sorry," from poena (see penal). The distinction between regret (q.v.) and repent is made in many modern languages, but the differentiation is not present in older periods. Related: Repented; repenting.