repent1
[ri-pent]
- 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.
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- 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.
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Origin of repent1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for repented
Contemporary Examples
And, eventually, who repented – famously on television during a remarkable series of interviews with David Frost.
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 PrisonNicolaus Mills
December 9, 2013
“I have no doubt in my mind that these men have repented,” Barbour said in an appearance on Fox News.
Hindley claimed to have repented and this is why Longford campaigned against her life sentence, she explains.
In 2007, Dowd publicly repented and said he was considering a life of missionary work.
Historical Examples
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 DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
"There, chicken—the heat always turns me snappy," she repented instantly.
Good IndianB. M. Bower
And she, therefore, repented of her rebellion as of a crime.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
The poor man looks as if he repented sincerely of his errors.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
repent1
- to feel remorse (for); be contrite (about); show penitence (for)he repents of his extravagance; he repented his words
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French repentir from re- + pentir to be contrite, from Latin paenitēre to repent
repent2
- botany lying or creeping along the ground; reptantrepent stems
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Word Origin
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
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper