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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contrite
That's why Gausman was contrite despite a mostly fantastic effort.
—
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
The dispatches from one of India’s most troubled generic drug makers were contrite, filled with far-reaching promises to clean up its factory, stop contamination and send safe medication to Americans counting on the company’s drugs.
—Megan Rose, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2025
Van Buren returns shortly with a newly contrite attitude, having come around to his library’s merits and read up on Toth’s prior designs in Hungary.
—Anthony Paletta, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Feb. 2025
Everyone would be expecting a contrite performance from him, tepid jokes about male-female relationships, jokes about how horrible men were, and so on.
—Camille Bordas, Harper's Magazine, 2 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for contrite
Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
The dispatches from one of India’s most troubled generic drug makers were contrite, filled with far-reaching promises to clean up its factory, stop contamination and send safe medication to Americans counting on the company’s drugs.
—Megan Rose, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2025
Van Buren returns shortly with a newly contrite attitude, having come around to his library’s merits and read up on Toth’s prior designs in Hungary.
—Anthony Paletta, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Feb. 2025
Everyone would be expecting a contrite performance from him, tepid jokes about male-female relationships, jokes about how horrible men were, and so on.
—Camille Bordas, Harper's Magazine, 2 May 2024
See All Example Sentences for contrite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contrite
Adjective
-
His public defender told reporters on Thursday that her client was remorseful.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Melling’s scenes all took place in the objectively less exciting muggle universe, occurring along a fairly straightforward arc from spoiled bully to remorseful young adult.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Even as workers reach a breaking point, many still feel ashamed to seek help from food banks or family, Finlay said.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
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Experts agree plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures are nothing to be ashamed of and transparency from celebrities is critical to dismantling unhealthy beauty norms.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Despite today’s sorry state, Riverside was once the cemetery of choice.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
28 Mar. 2026
-
To be sure, few freedom-loving people are sorry to see Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gone.—
Storer H. Rowley,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The professor who gave me the news was polite and professional, apologetic even.—
Kori Schake,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
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Eventually, he was escorted out of the event space, with Palmer looking concerned for him and apologetic toward her co-stars and the crowd.—
William Earl,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Johnson wrote in a letter in the filing to the Illinois review board that Hoover is repentant and has the potential and the desire to live the rest of his life as a force for good in his community.—
Beatrice Peterson,
ABC News,
22 Oct. 2025
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Perry had been reluctant to engage with recovery groups in the past, which are often structured around repentant confessions.—
Katy Golvala,
Hartford Courant,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
It is flanked on all sides by footlong rulers (emblazoned, like the yardsticks, with an assortment of penitent phrases including YES, SISTER and NO, SISTER) marking the hours.—
Alex Jovanovich,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
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When in the presence of God, one is meant to assume a penitent air.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
Adjective
-
My sole interaction with the mother was calm and with good intentions, and the outcome of the encounter is regretful.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
26 Mar. 2026
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And the conflict behind it all dates back to a regretful college recruitment and housing decision.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contrite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contrite. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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