ˈpenəd.ən(t)s, -ətən- also -ət ə n- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin poenitentia, alteration (influenced by Latin poena penalty, pain) of Latin paenitentia regret, from paenitent-, paenitens (present participle of paenitēre to be sorry, cause to be sorry) + -ia -y; akin to Latin paene almost — more at pain , patient
1. : penance
2. : the quality or state of being penitent : sorrow for sins or faults
forgiveness following true penitence
Synonyms:
repentance , contrition , attrition , remorse , compunction : penitence describes the state of mind of one who acknowledges and deeply regrets his wrongs and is determined to amend
that no sin is beyond forgiveness if it is followed by true penitence — K.S.Latourette
repentance emphasizes the change of mind of one who not only regrets specific faults or errors but has abandoned his former way of life and is following a new standard
for godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation — 2 Cor 7: 10 (Revised Standard Version)
without repentance … man is too much his own god to feel the need of … knowing the true God — Reinhold Niebuhr
contrition stresses a sense of unworthiness; in general use it implies penitence that is manifest in signs of pain or grief
you must — whether you feel it or not — present an appearance of contrition — George Meredith
in the theological use, contrition implies sorrow arising out of love of God and one's failure to respond to his graces; in this sense, it is contrasted with attrition , which means sorrow over one's sin due to a lower motive, such as fear of punishment
most Christian churches hold that attrition is imperfect contrition and is not sufficient for salvation
attrition , in this sense, is limited to theological use. All these terms imply an authority, religious or secular, to which one submits; this implication is absent from remorse and compunction , both of which denote a painful sting of conscience, without necessarily connoting humility or hope of forgiveness; but remorse emphasizes mental anguish and often intense suffering for consequences which cannot be escaped, not necessarily accompanied by any resolve to reform
remorse that makes one walk on thorns — Oscar Wilde
chronic remorse, as all the moralists are agreed, is a most undesirable sentiment — Aldous Huxley
compunction , the least powerful of these terms, usually suggests a momentary reaction, not only for something done, but also for something being done or about to be done
would not hurt a gnat unless his party … told him to do so, and then only with compunction — Sir Winston Churchill