What is remorseful mean

Remorseful Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

re·morse·ful ri-ˈmȯrs-fəl

: motivated or marked by remorse

remorsefully

ri-ˈmȯrs-fə-lē

adverb

remorsefulness noun

Synonyms

apologetic
compunctious
contrite
penitent
regretful
repentant
rueful
sorry

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Example Sentences

was remorseful about all the trouble that he had caused in the family

Recent Examples on the Web During a press conference after the sentencing, Forrest rejected Fucci's apology, noting that at no point were the teenager's actions in court in line with a man who was remorseful. —Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2023 In September 2021, a federal judge OK'd Hinckley's unconditional release, which went into effect on June 15. Although he's barred from speaking with his victims, Hinckley told ABC News that he’s been remorseful for years and felt sad that his actions led to Brady's years of pain. —Juju Chang, ABC News, 5 July 2022 Callers might be jittery or stoic, defensive or remorseful, coolly businesslike or floridly emotional — sometimes all of those in a single conversation. —Laura King, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Mar. 2023 Ronaldo did not make specific reference to his actions, but appeared remorseful in his public statement. —James Robson, ajc, 20 Oct. 2022 There’s two kinds of remorseful, of course. —Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2022 Callers might be jittery or stoic, defensive or remorseful, coolly businesslike or floridly emotional — sometimes all of those in a single conversation. —Laura King, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Mar. 2023 Callers might be jittery or stoic, defensive or remorseful, coolly businesslike or floridly emotional — sometimes all of those in a single conversation. —Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2023 In the wake of a tragic bus crash, Canada grapples with accountability, justice, and mercy for a remorseful driver. —Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'remorseful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of remorseful was in 1592

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Dictionary Entries Near

remorseful

remorse

remorseful

remorseless

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“Remorseful. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/remorseful. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.

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Kids Definition

remorseful

adjective

re·morse·ful ri-ˈmȯrs-fəl

: moved or marked by remorse

remorsefully

-fə-lē

adverb

remorsefulness noun

Remorseful Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.

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[ ri-mawrs-fuhl ]

/ rɪˈmɔrs fəl /

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See synonyms for remorseful on Thesaurus.com

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adjective

full of remorse.

characterized by or due to remorse: a remorseful mood.

OTHER WORDS FOR remorseful

1, 2 contrite, regretful, penitent.

See synonyms for remorseful on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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Origin of remorseful

First recorded in 1585–95; remorse + -ful

OTHER WORDS FROM remorseful

re·morse·ful·ly, adverbre·morse·ful·ness, nounun·re·morse·ful, adjectiveun·re·morse·ful·ly, adverb

un·re·morse·ful·ness, noun

Words nearby remorseful

remonstrate, remontant, remontoir, remora, remorse, remorseful, remorseless, remortgage, remote, remote access, remote control

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to remorseful

apologetic, contrite, regretful, repentant, sad, sorrowful, sorry, attritional, chastened, compunctious, conscience-stricken, mournful, penitent, penitential, rueful, self-reproachful

How to use remorseful in a sentence

I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself.
'My Behavior Was Unacceptable.' Will Smith Apologizes to Chris Rock in a New Video|Anisha Kohli|July 29, 2022|Time
He is remorseful, and he does feel compelled now to do what he can to help his victims.
Why Trust What Bernie Madoff Says About JP Morgan Now?|Burt Ross|February 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Has he publicly stated that he is remorseful about his crimes?
My Professor, the Killer: Why Dr. James St. James Should Stay|Joelle Charbonneau|August 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Now he claims he is remorseful and wants to help young people avoid repeating his mistakes.
Utah Man Awaits Firing Squad|The Daily Beast|June 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST

But the remorseful young men who are willing to appear in front of the Western cameras are not the whole story.
Rehab the Terrorists...With Love|Robert Lacey|May 21, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Shame for her unjust accusations, and remorseful gratitude pierced Ida's bosom.
Alone|Marion Harland
I felt as remorseful as if every tear he was hiding was a drop of blood.
Ernest Linwood|Caroline Lee Hentz
If he was remorseful, so was she; she never wanted to see his sanctimonious face again.
Robert Annys: Poor Priest|Annie Nathan Meyer
But the captain's eyes were dull, and he walked his cabin, sunk in a gloomy, remorseful trance.
Derelict|Alan Edward Nourse
The quarryman proceeded on his way, and Pierston, deeply remorseful, knocked at the door of the minute freehold.
The Well-Beloved|Thomas Hardy

REPENTANCE - what is REPENTANCE

found in the "Dictionary-Handbook of Psychoanalysis"

- a deep experience that causes a person not only regret about the deed, but also the desire to prevent such a thing in later life. From a psychoanalytic point of view, repentance is associated with immoral acts. It involves feelings of guilt and conscience. Therefore, the understanding of repentance is impossible without referring to the emotional experiences of a person associated with an unconscious sense of guilt. The concept of repentance was contained in the work of Z. Freud "Totem and Taboo" (1913). Based on the studies of C. Darwin, R. Smith, Atkinson, he put forward a hypothesis according to which, at the dawn of the formation of mankind in the primitive horde, a cruel, jealous father ruled, saving for himself females, not allowing his growing sons to reach them and expelling them from the horde. Once the exiled brothers united among themselves, killed and ate their father, which is natural for savage cannibals. Having eliminated their father and quenched their hatred, the brothers fell under the power of intensified gentle spiritual movements. “This took the form of repentance, a consciousness of guilt arose, coinciding here with the remorse experienced by all.” Under the influence of this feeling, the brothers condemned their act, declared the murder of the deputy father of the totem unacceptable and abandoned the freed women. So, according to Z. Freud, two main taboos were created from the consciousness of the son's guilt, which prohibited parricide and incest in a primitive society, which served as the beginning of the development of religion, morality, and culture. In "Dissatisfaction with Culture" (1930) the founder of psychoanalysis clarified the understanding of the relationship between repentance and guilt. He proceeded from the fact that repentance can be called the feeling of guilt that arises after the accomplishment of something criminal. It refers only to the act and presupposes the presence of conscience before the act, that is, the readiness to feel guilty. Returning to the murder of the forefather, Z. Freud emphasized that "repentance was the result of the initial ambivalence of feelings towards the father: his sons hated him, but they loved him." After the satisfaction of hatred in aggression, “love manifested itself as remorse for what had been done, the identification of the “Super-I with the father” took place. As a punishment for parricide, the power of the father was given to the Superego, which imposes prohibitions on the repetition of the act. Since the tendency to aggression against the father was repeated in subsequent generations, the surviving sense of guilt intensified each time the aggression was suppressed and transferred to the superego. It follows from this that the feeling of guilt is revealed regardless of whether parricide actually occurred or was abstained from, while repentance arises after the act committed. The problem of remorse has attracted the attention of other psychoanalysts as well. So, E. Fromm (1900-1980) believed that genuine repentance is the only form of human experience that can prevent the repetition of a crime once committed by a person. "Repentance is a strong affective feeling: the repentant feels disgust for himself and his actions." If there is no repentance, then the impression arises that there was no crime at all. According to E. Fromm, everyone should think about the crimes committed by us and our ancestors. Everyone needs to repent openly. However, individual repentance is not enough, since it does not address crimes committed by a group, a nation, and especially a state that does not obey the dictates of conscience. As E. Fromm believed, “until we dare to “recognize our national guilt”, people will remain in the blinkers of stereotypical thinking: when the crimes of enemies are sharply condemned, with complete blindness in assessing the crimes of their people. ”

Composition Repentance (What is repentance?) Grade 9 15.3 OGE reasoning

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9 class
Repentance (What is repentance?)

Repentance is a feeling that a person who has done something wrong can experience, combining a feeling of guilt for the consequences of his act and regret about it.

This feeling comes after committing some bad deed and does not leave the person in peace. And it doesn't have to be some serious crime. This can be an ordinary misconduct, for which a person is not only ashamed, but also very sorry that this happened.

All those who have experienced this feeling will not deny the fact that this is a rather unpleasant feeling that is better not to experience. Unfortunately, or fortunately, every person who has at least moral guidelines and conscience experiences such a feeling at least once in his life. All this is explained by the fact that people are not perfect, therefore everyone has at least one offense in their life. However, unfortunately, there are even people who, after committing a misdemeanor, do not experience such a feeling and even believe that they acted absolutely right. This only indicates that a person does not have any moral guidelines, and even more so conscience. It is very important that everyone knows how to evaluate their bad deeds, and draw certain conclusions from this. Why do it right away or as quickly as possible, and not torture yourself with it every day, or just assume that everything is done right.

At the moment of repentance, people usually look at the world and its values in a slightly different way. They carefully analyze their act and do not try to justify themselves in any way.

It is also important to be able to repent - to admit to a committed deed, to tell about your regrets about this and admit your mistake. After a person, for example, asks for forgiveness, says that he was wrong or admits to something - of course, the feeling of guilt will immediately pass. The ability to repent makes it possible to evaluate our bad deeds, as well as to some extent correct what we have done. The ability to repent is a sign of humanity. Without such a skill, repentance can simply “poison” a person’s soul and turn into a feeling of constant guilt.

A good example of repentance is Dostoevsky's famous work Crime and Punishment. Here we see how the main character of this work suffered after the crime: Raskolnikov. He constantly blamed himself, could not calm down. With all this, at the time of the murder, he was completely sure that he was doing exactly the right thing. However, after all that had been done, his conscience did not give him rest at all, and the main character realized that he had done wrong. But it turned out that the hero still had the ability to repent. He confessed to the murder and was held responsible for his actions, but his conscience left him alone. Based on this, we can conclude that before doing something, you need to think carefully about your action.

Repentance plays a fairly large role in our lives. When we do something wrong and feel that way, we realize that we shouldn't do it again.

Composition №2

Probably, first of all, this feeling. Not a character trait, not a personality side, but a feeling. Therefore, it is inherent in people who are kind and capable of compassion. At least to himself.

Repentance is akin to regret about the deed done. People only regret, usually when they do not like the consequences of these actions, but repent when they regret the act itself. This means that they have changed their worldview and idea of what this act can mean.

If we accept this concept of repentance as the truth, I think that people rarely truly repent. In most cases, they are driven not by the outcome of events that is convenient for them, but by the consequences of their actions. Also condemnation from society. Because society - the surrounding society - is the majority. And one in the field is not a warrior. You can't go against the majority.

And people begin to resort to such little tricks as the substitution of concepts. And, in particular, they deceive themselves. Because it's easier and easier. They hide from the reality of what is happening behind the lies they themselves believe. They delve into their invented world, forgetting about warnings, about the possibility of drowning in it or, in general, staying forever.

But real repentance comes when a person has time to talk to himself and analyze his actions. When in childhood his parents laid in him at least a drop of kindness, humanity and compassion. And let all this be forgotten over the long years of fuss and life's problems. But it will certainly emerge, will respond in a sick and inflamed soul from hardships. And, if you give yourself and your soul a little peace and time to think, even the most terrible deed can be canceled before God by sincere repentance.

How many times have people vowed not to drink, not to smoke, not to raise a hand against their wife or child. But not every time it was remorse. When they were pressed by the law and the authorities, their brain, trying to protect itself or mitigate the threatening punishment, found loopholes for justification. At least in front of yourself. And, people forget that when you often resort to lies, you start to really think that it really is. Or you get entangled in it so that a huge ball of that very lie can one day crush you.

Sincere repentance comes only when a person gets rid of fear. Fear of being recognized, exposed, from fear of punishment or death. When he understands, he accepts the state of things with his soul and brain. Only then can true repentance come. Fears control us, force us to lie, steal, kill. Of course, if we're not talking about serial killers. These are either sick people, or fears and lies have taken possession of them so much that they can no longer escape from their clawed paws.

That is why those sentenced to death repent of their deeds more often than we, who look at ourselves every day in the mirror. We do not see the inevitability of punishment and behind a series of pressing matters, we have no time to think about it.

A teenager who throws cats down a flight of stairs from the fifth floor for fun only repents when he puts himself or someone he really loves in the place of this cat. When she realizes how scared she was to fly from such a height and how painful it was to hit the railing and steps.

Sincere repentance and sincere sympathy are brothers. And only parents should teach this to their children.

An adult who does not commit acts leading to repentance is a child who has grown up in great love. He who knows, no matter what happens, his relatives will not turn away from him and will not begin to love him less. Such a person will simply not be capable of a vile and cruel act, for which he would later have to repent.

What is repentance? Composition

Repentance is a difficult feeling that not everyone can accept, because who wants to feel guilty and responsible for some mistakes made. But at the same time, every person sooner or later encounters this feeling. The only question is the readiness to realize and feel remorse. Is this feeling necessary, what does it teach?

This feeling appears only in conscientious and sincere people. Repentance "melts" the steel armor of indifference, irresponsibility and indifference, making a person real, and his soul pure. Unfortunately, today more and more people are trying to get away from repentance by pretending that it does not concern them. However, retribution is not long in coming, and if a person has not been able to repent, a bitter fate awaits him.

When does repentance come, and when should it be expected? Someone repents if he offended an animal, and someone, even if he hurt another person, can pretend that what happened did not hook him in any way. Repentance comes from the fact that a person wants to assuage his guilt and wants to atone for the guilt for what he has done. Thanks to this feeling, a person learns to take into account the interests of others and educates his conscience.

A worthy example of a person who repented and was ready to accept his punishment is Radion Raskolnikov, the hero of the immortal story Crime and Punishment. A beggar young man killed an old woman hated by him for the sake of money. He could take the money, spend it and forget about the crime he committed, but no. The hero of the novel is a good-natured and sincere person who found himself in a difficult situation and could not find a worthy way out of it. Raskolnikov is tormented by conscience, he loses sleep and cannot live normally. He believed that he acted for the good, but he understands how wrong he was. To appease his conscience and atone for his guilt, he confesses to the crime, and as a result, when his soul was cleansed, the guy sighed calmly. Despite the cruel crime committed, the hero remained a man, there is no emptiness in his soul, and he himself did not turn into an inhuman who is indifferent to the suffering of people.

Repentance helps to avoid mistakes in the future, saves the soul from darkness and evil, makes it brighter and helps to overcome pain and suffering.

Grade 9 15.3 OGE Argument to the composition of Repentance

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← Kindness ↑ Grade 9 Compassion →

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