repent

Verb

repent (third-person singular simple present repents, present participle repenting, simple past and past participle repented)

1. (intransitive) To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of".
   • Marry in haste, repent at leisure.
   • Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
     Take heed to yourselves: If thy...1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 17:1–4
2. (intransitive) To be sorry for sin as morally evil, and to seek forgiveness; to cease to practice sin and to love.
   • ... Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 1:14–15
   • Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call....1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 2:38–40
3. (transitive) To feel pain on account of; to remember with sorrow.
   • If Aljunied decides to go that way (to vote for the Workers' Party), well Aljunied has five years to live and repent.2011 April 30, Lee Kuan Yew, as quoted, “Aljunied voters will regret choosing WP: MM Lee”, in Yahoo News, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2025
4. (transitive) To be sorry for, to regret.
   • I repent my sins.
   • And what I ſaid in time of our buſines I repent not,
     And if it were to ſpeake againe,
     Euerie word ſhould be a whole ſermon,
     So much I repent me.1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act IV
5. (archaic, transitive) To cause to have sorrow or regret.
   • at that time she wolde nat, she seyde, for she was syke and myght nat ryde. "That me repentith," seyde the kynge[…].1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book VII, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich]...
   • And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 6:6
6. (obsolete, reflexive) To cause (oneself) to feel pain or regret.
   • But if that I knewe what his name hight,
     For clatering of me I would him ſone quight;
     For his falſe lying, of that I ſpake never,
     I could make him ſhortly repent him forever: […]c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.
7. (archaic, intransitive) To change one's mind.
   • The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 110:4

Adjective

IPA/ˈɹiːpənt/

repent

1. Creeping along the ground.
   • The pennated, repent and ferine entities of the boscage, are ousels, shellducks, […] and ursine quadrupeds.1870, Samuel Klinefelter Hoshour, Letters to Squire Pedant in the East, page 54

   Synonyms:

   reptant