feeling or expressing sorrow for sin or wrongdoing and disposed to atonement and amendment; repentant; contrite.
noun
2.
a penitent person.
3.
Roman Catholic Church. a person who confesses sin and submits to a penance.
Origin
1325-75;Middle English < Medieval Latinpēnitent-,Latinpaenitent- (stem of paenitēns), present participle of paenitēre to regret; replacing Middle Englishpenaunt < Anglo-French; see penance
Related forms
penitently, adverb
nonpenitent, adjective, noun
unpenitent, adjective
unpenitently, adverb
Synonyms
1. remorseful, rueful, sorrowful.
Antonyms
1. unrepentant, impenitent.
Examples from the web for penitent
Just what might have been done by a penitent nation is not made clear.
There was a penitent nature to the soldier's words.
He visits her grave, penitent.
But the idea is not that a nation of penitents would make better fighters.
It is strange to think – but the original idea behind penitentiaries was for the prisoners to be penitent.
There may be much to be penitent about.
The penitent man shall pass.
It was a haven for the pious and tbe penitent.
The penitent asked him why he had so much spared his weakness.
The priest may not, even of his voluntary accord, testify as to what was said in the confessional booth by the penitent.
British Dictionary definitions for penitent
penitent
/ˈpɛnɪtənt/
adjective
1.
feeling regret for one's sins; repentant
noun
2.
a person who is penitent
3.
(Christianity)
a person who repents his sins and seeks forgiveness for them
(RC Church) a person who confesses his sins to a priest and submits to a penance imposed by him
Derived Forms
penitence, noun penitently, adverb
Word Origin
C14: from Church Latin paenitēns regretting, from paenitēre to repent, of obscure origin
Word Origin and History for penitent
adj.
mid-14c., from Old French pénitent (14c.) and directly from Latin paenitentem (see penitence). As a noun, late 14c., from the adjective.