pen·i·tent [pen-i-tuh nt]
adjective
1. feeling sorrow, guilt, or shame for wrongdoing; repentant.
noun
2. a penitent person.
3. a person who repents their sins and (in the Christian Church) pleads for forgiveness from God.
4. a penitent person who surrenders to a penance.
Origin[]
1325-75; Middle English < Medieval Latin pēnitent-, Latin paenitent- (stem of paenitēns), present participle of paenitēre to regret; replacing Middle English penaunt < Anglo-French; see penance
Synonyms[]
1. remorseful, rueful, sorrowful, repentant.
Antonyms[]
1. happy, unashamed, unrepentant, impenitent.