DICTIONARY

Contrite  | definition, Translation and uses

August 30, 2025
Vannesa Lee Orquestra

Contrite

Contrite means feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt. It’s a sincere expression of regret or sorrow for one’s sins or offenses.

Example:

  • “The contrite sinner knelt before the altar, seeking forgiveness.”
  • “He felt contrite after realizing the impact of his words.”

Historical Context and Etymology

  • Origin: The word “contrite” comes from the Latin word “contritus,” the past participle of “conterere,” meaning “to grind to pieces” or “to bruise.” This reflects the idea of being crushed or broken in spirit due to remorse.
  • Evolution: The term has been used in religious contexts, particularly in Christianity, to describe a state of repentance and sorrow for sins. Over time, its usage expanded to describe deep regret in secular contexts as well.

Forms of Speech

  1. Adjective: Describing someone who is feeling or showing remorse.
    • “She gave a contrite apology.”
  2. Noun: Contriteness
    • “The contriteness in his voice was evident.”
  3. Adverb: Contritely
    • “He spoke contritely about his mistakes.”

Translations of Contrite

  1. Spanish – contrito
  2. French – contrit
  3. Italian – contrito
  4. Portuguese – contrito
  5. German – zerknirscht
  6. Dutch – berouwvol
  7. Swedish – ångerfull
  8. Danish – angerfuld
  9. Norwegian – angrende
  10. Finnish – katuvainen
  11. Russian – сокрушённый (sokrushyonnyy)
  12. Ukrainian – сокрушений (sokrushenyy)
  13. Polish – skruszony
  14. Czech – kajícný
  15. Slovak – kajúci
  16. Bulgarian – съкрушен (sykrushen)
  17. Serbian – покајан (pokajan)
  18. Croatian – pokajan
  19. Slovenian – skesan
  20. Hungarian – bűnbánó
  21. Greek – μετανοημένος (metanoiménos)
  22. Turkish – pişman, tövbekâr
  23. Romanian – căit
  24. Albanian – penduar
  25. Armenian – ապաշխարող (apashkharogh)
  26. Georgian – მონანიე (monanie)
  27. Hebrew – חָרוּט (charut), מתחרט (mitḥaret)
  28. Arabic – نادم (nadim), تائب (ta’ib)
  29. Persian (Farsi) – پشیمان (pashiman)
  30. Urdu – پشیمان (pasheman)
  31. Hindi – पश्चातापी (pashchatapi)
  32. Bengali – অনুতপ্ত (onutoopto)
  33. Punjabi – ਪਛਤਾਵਾਨ (pachatawan)
  34. Gujarati – પસ્તાવો કરનાર (pastavo karnār)
  35. Marathi – खेदग्रस्त (khedgrast)
  36. Tamil – மனந்திரும்பிய (manandhirumbiya)
  37. Telugu – పశ్చాత్తాపం కలిగిన (paschattaapam kaligina)
  38. Kannada – ಪಶ್ಚಾತ್ತಾಪಿ (paschattapi)
  39. Malayalam – പശ്ചാത്താപിയായ (paschaathapiya)
  40. Sinhala – පසුතැවිලි (pasuthavili)
  41. Thai – สำนึกผิด (samneuk phit)
  42. Lao – ສຳນຶກຜິດ (samnuek phit)
  43. Khmer (Cambodian) – សោកស្តាយ (saok sadai)
  44. Vietnamese – hối hận, ăn năn
  45. Indonesian – menyesal, bertobat
  46. Malay – insaf, menyesal
  47. Filipino / Tagalog – nagsisisi
  48. Chinese (Mandarin) – 忏悔的 (chànhuǐ de)
  49. Japanese – 悔い改めた (kuiaratameta)
  50. Korean – 뉘우치는 (nwiuchineun)