contrite
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhntrytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kəntˈɹaɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one's own actions.
noun
A contrite person; a penitent.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one's own actions.
Used this way, contrite is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Honest and open
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Feeling pain or sorrow on account of one's sins or offenses.
Causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way.
Feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone.
Feeling or showing sorrow for wrongdoing.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.