repent
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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repents,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repented,
past participle, past
-
repenting
present participle
-
to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc. (often followed byof ).
He repented after his thoughtless act.
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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)
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repents,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repented,
past participle, past
-
repenting
present participle
-
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.
adjective
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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repentsimple
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repentssimple
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have repentedperfect
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has repentedperfect
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am repentingprogressive
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are repentingprogressive
-
is repentingprogressive
-
have been repentingperfect progressive
-
has been repentingperfect progressive
Past
-
repentedsimple
-
had repentedperfect
-
was repentingprogressive
-
were repentingprogressive
-
had been repentingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repent1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English repenten, from Old French repentir, from re- re- + pentir “to feel sorrow” (from Latin paenitēre “to regret, be sorry”; see penitent)
Origin of repent2
First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin rēpent- stem of rēpēns “crawling,” present participle of rēpere “to crawl, creep”; perhaps akin to serpere “to creep, crawl” ( see serpent ( def. ))
Explanation
The verb repent means "to feel sorry for something you've done." When you repent, you acknowledge what you did and vow to change your ways. The word repent comes from the Old French word repentir, which means, "to feel regret for sins or crimes." If you cheat on an exam in school, and feel guilty afterwards, you might repent for your bad behavior by confessing to your teacher. The verb repent is often used in a religious context: when you repent, you try to make up for what you've done, promise to avoid sin in the future and devote yourself to God.
Vocabulary lists containing repent
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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.
See Examples For:
But he also asked lawmakers to consider a kind of "special amnesty for those who repent."
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
If you did something good, rejoice, something bad, repent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
But not everyone accepted the Church's conclusions or the need to repent.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
For these reasons, and for all my aforementioned principles about allowing people to repent for their mistakes, I don’t think Platner should drop out of the race.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
When Sarai told him what Eril-Fane had done, he’d believed the Godslayer must repent of it now.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
The assumption is that Brady surely repents of the decision to return and that he is “a shell of himself,” as commentator Rex Ryan hazarded, and indeed he seems thin to the point of sickness.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2022
Welby, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, called for a "global financial architecture which repents of its past sins", including changes in tax rules to promote green activity.
From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2021
That particular reality is redeemed in narrative terms — Scrooge repents and Tiny Tim doesn't die after all — but the observation stands, and we all know how the story ends in the long run.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2021
In the World War II drama about an army medic who also happened to be a Seventh Day Adventist and pacifist, a man’s faith is tested, he’s nearly destroyed, he repents, he’s exonerated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2016
According to that doctrine, if a man steals and repents, and takes back the property, the repentance and the taking back of the property are two other crimes.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 1 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Lectures by Robert Green Ingersoll
Although his pro-Polish stance cost him a great deal of popularity in Russia—there was a sharp drop in the readership of the samizdat Bell—he never repented his choice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Among the foreign women held in the camps, many have repented and asked to go home, she said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
At the time of his 2024 conversion, Brand declared that he had repented of his past and that he would "acknowledge that I am in a battle against myself."
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2025
Most of these old pirates have left the area - often they have gone abroad or have repented.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2024
Nurse Cramer was prepared to begin talking to Nurse Duckett again if she repented and apologized.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
So, there’s a deeper meditation where you are repenting, not only for him but for the dynamics that are happening.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2022
Earlier this month, the National Association of Evangelicals issued a statement repenting for shortcomings in combating poverty and racial inequality.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2020
At one moment—around the time of his mother’s death—he is pulled back toward his inherited faith, repenting his lust for worldly success and begging forgiveness from God.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 14, 2019
“I am sorry, and I am repenting a lot,” Kang told reporters after the ruling.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 3, 2017
Now repenting of their wickedness, the Bible explains, the tribes resolved to “go to a distant land never yet inhabited by man, and there at last to be obedient to their laws.”
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
