re ‧ morse /rɪˈmɔːs $ -ɔːrs/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: remors , from Latin remordere 'to bite again' ]
a strong feeling of being sorry that you have done something very bad ⇨ regret :
Throughout the trial, he had shown no remorse.
remorse for
She felt a pang of remorse for what she had done.
be full of remorse/be filled with remorse
Filled with remorse, Dillon decided to resign.
—remorseful adjective
—remorsefully adverb
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THESAURUS
▪ guilt the feeling you have when you have done something you know is wrong:
Divorce often leaves people with feelings of guilt.
▪ shame the feeling of being guilty or embarrassed that you have after doing something that is wrong, when you feel you have lost people’s respect:
I was too scared to help him, and I was filled with shame.
▪ regret a feeling of sadness about something, especially because you wish it had not happened:
Kate watched her go with a pang of regret.
▪ remorse a strong feeling of being sorry for doing something very bad:
a murderer who showed no remorse
▪ contrition formal a feeling of being guilty and sorry for something wrong that you have done:
The company CEO expressed contrition for the errors that led to the crash.
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He sounded full of contrition.
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They wanted to perform some kind of act of contrition (=do something that shows you feel sorry for something ) .
▪ penitence formal a feeling of being sorry for something that you have done wrong, when you do not intend to do it again:
He expressed genuine penitence at the harm he had done her.
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a period of reflection and penitence
▪ conscience the part of your mind that tells you whether what you are doing is morally right or wrong:
My conscience has been troubling me ever since.