Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitent.
- adj. Arising from or expressing contrition: contrite words.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Bruised; worn.
- Hence—2. Broken in spirit by a sense of guilt; conscience-stricken; humbled; penitent: as, a contrite sinner.
- Synonyms Repentant, sorrowful. For comparison, see repentance.
- n. A contrite person; a penitent.
- To make humble or penitent.
Wiktionary
- adj. Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions; apologetic.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. obsolete Thoroughly bruised or broken.
- adj. Broken down with grief and penitence; deeply sorrowful for sin because it is displeasing to God; humbly and thoroughly penitent.
- n. A contrite person.
- v. In a contrite manner.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses
Etymologies
- From Latin contritus. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English contrit, from Latin contrītus, past participle of conterere, to crush : com-, com- + terere, to grind; see terə-1 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“This book comes with its head down, in contrite manner, but its eyes sparkling for the adventures its had.”
“No apology, no matter how contrite, is ever deemed sufficient.”
“I just can't wait for the moment when John McCain -- contrite and suddenly honorable again in victory or defeat -- talks about how things got a little out of control in the passion of the moment.”
“Remain contrite and humble when talking to the desk clerk who has just emphatically told you that no pets are allowed.”
“Sunderland2018bid. com And back the bid! petrbuben Dejan Stankovic of Switzerland celebrates scoring petrbuben Cristian Torres of Spain looks dejected after losing rooseve Marshall: What's French for 'contrite' - FIFA World Cup annalee7 Marshall: What's French for 'contrite' - FIFA World Cup”
Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7
“Hogan, overwhelmed by the magnitude of his master's misfortune, and realizing that it was due in no small degree to his own neglect, was now self-exiled from the lieutenant's roof, and seeking such consolation as he could find at the Harp of Erin outside the walls, a miserable and contrite man, -- contrite, that is to say, as manifested in the manner of his country, for Hogan was pottle deep in his distress.”
“The post Keaint-5 Scandal "contrite" McCain will emerge, phony as ever of course, and pretend to have reclaimed his high moral ground.”
“As far as Obama's claim today that Jeremiah Wright is now "contrite" about his inflammatory sermons, I would like to hear that from Wright himself.”
Hillary Supporter Ed Rendell: Let Pennsylvania Voters Have Their Say
“Of all the Dem senators who'd voted for the AUMF bill, the most "contrite" of the bunch have been John Kerry and John Edwards ... a coupe of losers.”
“The only part missing from the cycle model of violence in BWS is the 'contrite' part.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘contrite’.
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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GRE
GRE Vocabs
alacrity, celerity, haste, penitent, prosaic, veracity, paucity, maintain, laconic, pugnacious, disparate, egregious and 13 more...
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man gre
abase, abeyance, abreast, abscission, abscond, abyss, accede, accretion, acerbic, acidulous, acumen, adulterate and 481 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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Go over
mollify, obstinate, obviate, occlude, onerous, obscure, paragon, pedantic, perfunctory, placate, placid, prodigal and 364 more...
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magoosh1
aberration, aboveboard, abysmal, ace, affable, aghast, alacrity, ambiguous, ambivalent, ameliorate, amenable, amiable and 205 more...
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GRE Reference
A list of words unfamiliar to me that I have repeatedly encountered in GRE question sets.
parochial, clique, salacious, aegis, ostracize, conceited, sacrilegious, inane, serendipity, gourmand, polemic, tenuous and 138 more...
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Favorites
disparage, partisan, cupidity, hokum, tussle, odious, dastardly, overture, plane, chronic, peering, peer and 328 more...
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My GRE Vocab
moniker, sobriquet, prerogative, aberration, aberrant, nuance, notorious, infamous, renown, allude, refer, content and 109 more...
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All The Words
I enjoy collecting words, for I have no fear of them ever running out.
tatterdemalion, panopticon, idioglossia, hypnagogue, hypnopomp, defenestration, anacoluthon, scofflaw, affront, edifying, palimpsest, naufrage and 475 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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SAT vocab
abash, abdicate, abate, aberration, abhor, abject, abnegate, abortive, absolve, abstruse, accolade, accost and 175 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
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My Revised GRE Preparation List
Words from the new GRE : This list consists mostly of words from the book Magoosh-GRE-vocab-ebook, which is one of the best vocab materials available, especially if you have started preparing one ...
mulct, dupe, pittance, stipend, defray, cupidity, avarice, prodigal, profligate, affluent, insolvent, penurious and 533 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for contrite.
fbharjo con-trite: against cliches, for change Apr 26, 2011
singingjesus In its Biblical context, this word means 'broken', as in broken down until nothing is left. Feb 13, 2011