resipiscence

Syllables: re·si·pisc·ence/ˌɹɛsɪˈpɪsn̩(t)s/US/ˌɹɛsəˈpɪsn̩(t)s/

resipiscence noun: recognition of one or more past mistakes, especially with a desire to improve in the future; repentance; (countable) an instance of this.

Noun

resipiscence (usually uncountable, plural resipiscences)

(literary, usually) Recognition of one or more past mistakes, especially with a desire to improve in the future; repentance; (countable) an instance of this.
- And I haue already ſayd how ſinners for obteyning of pardon haue neede of repentance, which ſome like better to call Reſipiſcence, or amendment, and of change of minde: and the Lord promiſeth that he will pardon ſinners if they repent, if they amend and turne their hartes from their naughtie liues...1570, [Alexander Nowell], “The Second Part. Of the Gospell and Faith.”, in T[homas] Norton, transl., A Catechisme, or First Instruction and Learning of Christian Religion. […], London: […] Iohn Daye...
- [T]hey vvill not haue to ſignifie a ſorrovvefull repentance, but a Resipiscence, or vvaxing vviſe againe vvhich God graunt they may doe vvithout any ſorrovve, or affliction of minde for that vvhich is paſt.[1622], P[eter] Canisius, “Of Indulgences, or Pardons”, in [Henry Garnet], transl., A Summe of Christian Doctrine: […], Saint-Omer: […] [Charles Boscart] for Iohn Heigham, […], →OCLC, page 644
(literary, usually) The act of becoming comprehending, reasonable or responsible, especially after having behaved in an uncomprehending, unreasonable, or irresponsible manner; the act of coming to one's senses; (countable) an instance of this.
- The most urgent thing to do seems to be that we come all together in having at once our Ministers in France give a joint declaration or like and simultaneous declarations which may bring to their senses the leaders of the violent party [behind the French Revolution] and avert desperate decisions by...1928 December 17, J[oshua] Reuben Clark, quoting Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, “The Grand Alliance and the Holy Alliance [Leopold II to the Empress of Russia, the Electress of Mayence, and the...
- This return-to-oneself, resipiscence, 'rebirth,' is an infinitely dramatic and moving event, especially in a patient with a rich and full self, who has been dispossessed by disease for years or decades […] That a return to health or resipiscence is possible, in these patients with half a century of...1973, Oliver Sacks, “[Perspectives] Awakening”, in Awakenings, London: Picador, published 2011, →ISBN

resipiscence meaning in Kannada

resipiscence in Kannada

ವಿವೇಕ ತಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು, ತಪ್ಪಿನ ಅರಿವು, ಅನುಭವ ಜ್ಞಾನ

Examples of resipiscence in a sentence

[G]reat intellect knows no resipiscence and high art has nothing to repent of.1863, Ernest Naville, “Seventh Lecture. Religion.”, in Life Eternal. […], London: W. H. Dalton, […], →OCLC, page 221:
What to say of the other notions (hypostasis) they introduce, exiles (paroikia), reflections (antitypos) and resipiscences (metanoia).2005, Gilles Quispel, “Plotinus and the Jewish Gnōstikoi”, in Johannes van Oort, editor, Gnostica, Judaica, Catholica: Collected Essays of...
After eighty-nine weeks (and how many thousands of hours of verbiage), the international community was finally headed in the only direction that might bring the military to resipiscence.1996, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, “Hope”, in Carrol F. Coates, transl., Dignity, Charlottesville, Va.; London: University Press of Virginia...
All this is, Busner thinks, still inadequate to the task of expressing the quality of her resipiscence – a return to good health of a miraculous nature.2012, Will Self, Umbrella, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, published 2013, →ISBN, page 211:

Forms of resipiscence

plural	resipiscences

Origin of resipiscence

Unadapted borrowing from Middle French resipiscence (“act of recovering one’s senses or coming back to a more acceptable view; repentance”) (modern French résipiscence), or from its etymon Late Latin resipīscentia (“regaining of a clear state of mind, repentance”), from Latin resipīscēns + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Resipīscēns is the present participle of resipīscō (“to recover one’s senses; to revive”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + sapiō (“to have flavour or taste; (figurative) to have good taste or discernment; to be sensible or wise”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p-, *sep- (“to taste; to try out”)) + -īscō (a variant of -ēscō (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘becoming [something]’)).

Questions about resipiscence

What does resipiscence mean?: Resipiscence means recognition of one or more past mistakes, especially with a desire to improve in the future; repentance; (countable) an instance of this.
What is resipiscence in Kannada?: Resipiscence in Kannada is ವಿವೇಕ ತಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು, ತಪ್ಪಿನ ಅರಿವು, ಅನುಭವ ಜ್ಞಾನ. See Resipiscence meaning in Kannada.
How do you use resipiscence in a sentence?: [G]reat intellect knows no resipiscence and high art has nothing to repent of.
What part of speech is resipiscence?: Resipiscence is a noun.
How do you pronounce resipiscence?: Resipiscence is pronounced /ˌɹɛsɪˈpɪsn̩(t)s/ (UK).
What is the plural of resipiscence?: The plural of resipiscence is resipiscences.

Words near resipiscence in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: resipiscence (page history and authors); resipiscence (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: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-resipiscence.wav.

Cite this entry: “resipiscence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/resipiscence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.