Penitent

//ˈpɛnɪtənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of their transgressions.
  2. 2
    (Roman Catholic Church) a person who repents for wrongdoing (a Roman Catholic may be admitted to penance under the direction of a confessor) wordnet
  3. 3
    One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.

    "Wamba, who defeated the Saracens in an attempt upon Spain, was deprived of the crown, because he had been clothed in the habit of a penitent, while labouring under the influence of poison, administered by the ambitious Erviga!"

  4. 4
    One under the direction of a confessor.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Feeling pain or sorrow on account of one's sins or offenses; feeling sincere guilt.

    "Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite."

  2. 2
    Doing penance.

    "[…] But we that know what ’tis to faſt and pray, / Are penitent for your default to day."

Adjective
  1. 1
    feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
penitentialremorsefulabjectapologeticapologeticashamed

Example

More examples

"Be penitent, and for thy fault contrite."

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin paenitēns, poenitēns (“penitent”), present participle of paeniteō, poeniteō (“I cause to repent; I regret, repent”). Doublet of penitente.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.