contrite means sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions.
contrite is pronounced /kənˈtɹaɪt/.
Why “contrite” is a great word
Feeling or expressing sincere remorse and penitence for one's sins or offenses. From Middle English contrit, from Anglo-French, from Latin contrītus, past participle of conterere ('to grind, crush, bruise'), from com- ('together') + terere ('to rub, wear'), first recorded in English c. 1300. Unlike 'remorseful,' which centers on the gnawing ache of guilt, or 'apologetic,' which can be a social courtesy for a slight, to be contrite is to be spiritually pulverized, reduced to a finer dust from which amendment might be shaped. It is the bowed head in the dim confessional, the silent repair of a treasured thing broken in anger, the deliberate laying down of pride like a knife on the threshold—a state where sorrow has finally worn through the surface until nothing proud remains.
adj
- Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions.
- Thoroughly bruised or broken.
noun
- A contrite person; a penitent.
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