repent

CEFRC1

/ɹɪˈpɛnt/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To feel sorry for a wrong action and wish to change.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To be sorry for sin as morally evil, and to seek forgiveness; to cease to practice sin and to love.

Examples

  • The time will come when she will repent of it.

  • We never repent having eaten too little.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
4

Also pronounced

  • /ˈɹiːpənt/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of".

  2. To feel pain on account of; to remember with sorrow.

  3. To be sorry for, to regret.

More examples

In context

  • Marry in haste, repent at leisure.

  • I repent my sins.

  • But if that I knewe what his name hight, For clatering of me I would him ſone quight; For his falſe lying, of that I ſpake never, I could make him ſhortly repent him forever: […]

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After cheating on the exam, the student felt a strong need to blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English repenten, from Old French repentir, from Vulgar Latin *repaenitīre, from Late Latin paenitīre, from Classical Latin paenitēre. Compare Modern French repentir.