penitentadjective
uk/ˈpen.ɪ.tənt/us/ˈpen.ə.tənt/formalshowing that you are sorry for something you have done because you feel it was wrong:
"I'm sorry," she said with a penitent smile.
It was hard to be angry with him when he looked so penitent.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Making & accepting apologies
- absolution
- afraid
- atonement
- conciliate
- cut
- excuse
- excuse/pardon my French! idiom
- forge
- if you'll pardon the expression idiom
- make it up to sb idiom
- mend
- mend your fences idiom
- overlook
- pardon (me) idiom
- recompense
- reconcile
- reconciliation
- repentant
- take sb back
- unrepentant
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penitence
noun [ U ] uk/ˈpen.ɪ.təns/us/ˈpen.ə.təns/
He expressed penitence for what he had done.
penitently
adverb uk/ˈpen.ɪ.tənt.li/us/ˈpen.ə.tənt.li/
penitentnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈpen.ɪ.tənt/us/ˈpen.ə.tənt/formala person who is performing a formal religious act to show that they are sorry for something they have done wrong
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Religious people: believers & non-believers
- agnostic
- apophatic
- apostasy
- apostate
- atheist
- believer
- faithless
- freethinker
- God-fearing
- godless
- hard core
- heathen
- humanism
- non-believer
- parishioner
- pilgrim
- revisionism
- skeptic
- the laity
- theist
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