Meanings
plural penitences · alternative archaic pænitence
- countableuncountableThe condition of being penitent; a feeling of regret or remorse for doing wrong or sinning.
Away, Remorse! / Compunction, hence!. / Go, Moral Force! / Go, Penitence!
1887, W. S. Gilbert, Ruddigore, Act II2 more examples
an assassin who misses his aim and flounders into penitence much as that discomfortable drama misses its point and stumbles into vacuity
1886, Algernon Charles Swinburne, The Age of Shakespeare, John WebsterAs for the moral turpitude that man unveiled to me, even with tears of penitence, I cannot, even in memory, dwell on it without a start of horror.
1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Dr. Lanyon’s Narrative”, in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 105Synonyms: compunction, contrition, remorse, repentance, penance, atonement
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe condition of being penitent; a feeling of regret or remorse for doing wrong or sinning.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinpaenitentia“repentance, penitence”
- Old Frenchpenitence
- Middle Englishpenitence
- Englishpenitence
First attested circa 13th century, from Middle English penitence, from Old French penitence, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”), from paenitēns (“penitent”), present active participle of paeniteō (“regret, repent”). Equivalent to penitent + -ence. Doublet of penance.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian разкаяние
- разкаяние (razkajanie)condition of being penitent
Dutch boetedoening, inkeer
- boetedoeningcondition of being penitent
- inkeercondition of being penitent
Finnish katumus
- katumuscondition of being penitent
German Reue, Bußfertigkeit
- Reuecondition of being penitent
- Bußfertigkeitcondition of being penitent
- Bußecondition of being penitent
Indonesian penitensi
- penitensicondition of being penitent
Irish aithrí
- aithrícondition of being penitent
Portuguese contrição, penitência
- contriçãocondition of being penitent
- penitênciacondition of being penitent
Slovak ľútosť, pokánie
- ľútosťcondition of being penitent
- pokániecondition of being penitent
- kajúcnosťcondition of being penitent
Spanish penitencia
- penitenciacondition of being penitent
Cite this entry
penitence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penitence
“penitence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penitence. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “penitence,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penitence.
Source: penitence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.