contrite
UK/kənˈtɹaɪt//kənˈtɹaɪt/
contrite adjective: sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions.
Adjective
contrite (comparative more contrite, superlative most contrite)
- Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions.
- The Lord will happineſs divine / On contrite hearts beſtow : / Then tell me, gracious God, is mine / A contrite heart, or no ?1779, John Newton, William Cowper, Olney Hymns, London: W. Oliver, page 81
- He greeted Milo jovially each time they met and, in an excess of contrite generosity, impulsively recommended Major Major for promotion. The recommendation was rejected at once at Twenty-seventh Air Force Headquarters by ex-P.F.C. Wintergreen, who scribbled a brusque, unsigned reminder that the...1955, Joseph Heller, Catch-22, chapter 13, page 133
- Synonyms:
- apologetic, remorseful, penitent, repentant, guilt-ridden
- Antonyms:
- attrite
- Thoroughly bruised or broken.
Noun
contrite (plural contrites)
- A contrite person; a penitent.
- Secondly, that even where contrition or inward repentance doth cleanſe without abſolution ; the reaſon why it cometh ſo to paſs, is, becauſe ſuch contrites intend and deſire Abſolution, though they have it not.a. 1600, Richard Hooker [uncertain], “Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie”, in The Works of Mr. Richard Hooker, London: J. Best, published 1662, book VI, page 178
contrite meaning in Urdu, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
contrite in Urdu
- نادم, پشیمان, تائب
contrite in Bengali
- অনুশোচনাগ্রস্ত
contrite in Malayalam
- repentant, remorseful, penitent
- പശ്ചാത്തപിക്കുന്ന, കഴിഞ്ഞതിനെക്കുറിച്ചോർത്തു ദുഃഖിക്കുന്ന, പശ്ചാത്താപനിർഭരമായ, പ്രത്യാസന്ന, പശ്ചാത്താപമുള്ള, പശ്ചാത്താപവിവശമായ
contrite in Kannada
- ತಪ್ಪೊಪ್ಪಿದ, ಪರಿತಪಿಸುವ, ಪಾಪಸಂತಪ್ತ
More languagesFewer languages
- contrite in Punjabi
- ਪਛਤਾਵਾ ਗਰਸਤ pachtāvā
- contrite in Tagalog
- nagagatik
- contrite in Arabic
- تَائِب tāʔib, نَادِم nādim
Synonyms of contrite
Antonyms
Forms of contrite
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more contrite |
| superlative | most contrite |
| Noun | |
| plural | contrites |
Origin of contrite
From Middle English contrit, from Old French contrit, from Latin contrītus (literally “ground to pieces”), perfect passive participle of conterō (“grind, bruise”), from con- + terō (“rub, wear away”).
Words formed from contrite
Words that rhyme with contrite
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- knight
- slight
- Dwight
- height
- sight
- night
- sprite
- fight
- parasite
- site
- alight
- smite
- all right
- blight
- might
- mite
- skite
- cite
- indite
- lite
- outright
- plight
- bight
- excite
- ignite
- invite
- overnight
- uptight
- wight
- accite
- alright
- benight
- bewrite
- blite
- copyright
- despite
- dight
- disunite
- finite
- flite
- hight
- incite
- recite
- relight
- rewrite
- sleight
- spite
- spright
Questions about contrite
- What does contrite mean?
- Contrite means sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions.
- What is contrite in Urdu?
- Contrite in Urdu is نادم, پشیمان, تائب. See Contrite meaning in Urdu.
- What part of speech is contrite?
- Contrite can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce contrite?
- Contrite is pronounced /kənˈtɹaɪt/ (UK).
Words near contrite in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: contrite (page history and authors); contrite (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contrite (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contrite (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); contrite (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-contrite.ogg, en-au-contrite.ogg.
Cite this entry: “contrite.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/contrite. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.