as in remorseful
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
being contrite is not enough to spare you a detention if you're caught skipping class
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Recent Examples of contrite
In Tuesday’s contrite letter to investors, Jun promised Samsung would address these and other issues head-on.
—
Greg McKenna, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2024
According to a report from Autosport, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali issued a contrite apology to the teams in the aftermath.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
Only one of the officers has been sentenced: a former community service officer named Samantha Peterson, who avoided jail time after reading a contrite statement in court.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 31 July 2024
Waving the Bible without being contrite is hypocrisy.
—Tj Hutchinson, The Denver Post, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrite 
Greg McKenna, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2024
According to a report from Autosport, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali issued a contrite apology to the teams in the aftermath.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
Only one of the officers has been sentenced: a former community service officer named Samantha Peterson, who avoided jail time after reading a contrite statement in court.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 31 July 2024
Waving the Bible without being contrite is hypocrisy.
—Tj Hutchinson, The Denver Post, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contrite
Adjective
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Meanwhile, the fans wearing Aaron Judge and Mariano Rivera jerseys who tried to pry the ball from Betts’ glove weren’t exactly remorseful.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2024
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Hughie Campbell is walking with his girlfriend down the street when suddenly she's obliterated by a speeding A-Train, who doesn't really seem that remorseful.—
Gord Magill,
Newsweek,
22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Yet none of the people who had new hates felt remotely ashamed.—
Sheila Heti,
The New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2025
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With your silly smirks your mothers would be ashamed of?—
Marya E. Gates,
IndieWire,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Like, sorry, life isn't some perfect script for everyone.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
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Some of those starts were even with MBM—sorry, Garage 66.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes,
18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Now, an apologetic Martin, who says the damage to the bluff was unintentional, has won city of Miami approval for an unprecedented fix — hiring a skilled stonemason to recreate the missing top two-and-a-half feet of the exposed, naturally jagged rock outcropping.—
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2025
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The Guard member was apologetic as people kept coming up, begging to get medication, clothes and insurance papers from their homes.—
Hailey Branson-Potts,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In his new statement, Suga took an even more repentant tone, apologizing for damaging his reputation and disappointing fans while opening himself to any further punishment.—
Justin Curto,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2024
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Released 24 years after a debut verse on an album no less auspicious than Outkast’s Stankonia, this was a veteran artist taking stock, vividly drawing the lines between the struggling kid and the grateful, repentant adult.—
Christopher R. Weingarten,
Rolling Stone,
1 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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But with Cash on the vocals, the song and the man singing are nearly penitent.—
Stephanie Kaloi and James Mercadante,
EW.com,
21 Dec. 2024
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Eighteen years later, playing the beloved daughter of Al Pacino’s Michael, she is shot dead on the steps of the opera house in Palermo, taking a bullet meant for the belatedly penitent godfather, who now comprehends without any doubt that there is no escaping the sins of his or his relatives’ past.—
Andrew Marzoni,
The New Republic,
3 Nov. 2023
Adjective
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Reubens is candid and perhaps regretful about some of his controlling behavior on the show, and its eventual demise; ditto some of the choices made on Big Top Pee-Wee.—
Daniel Fienberg,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
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Her scenes with Burstein are rich and funny and regretful; those with June (Jordan Tyson) and Louise (Joy Woods) are withering.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
20 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near contrite
Cite this Entry
“Contrite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contrite. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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