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# penitent

adjective (penitent); noun (a penitent, penitents)

«penitent» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Penitent means feeling and showing that you are sorry for doing wrong. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#m1)
2. (church) A penitent is a person who confesses their sins to a priest or does penance. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#m2)

### In the lessons

In religious stories and in ethics lessons a penitent person admits a wrong and wants to make it right; the father in the Prodigal Son story welcomes back his penitent son. In formal writing, «penitent» describes a sorry look or voice. Phrases: «a penitent sinner», «penitent tears», «look penitent».

### Examples

- The penitent boy said sorry to his grandmother. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#x1)
- The puppy looked penitent after chewing the shoe. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#x2)
- The priest listened kindly to the penitent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#x3)
- She wrote a penitent letter to her friend. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#x4)
- In the Bible story, the penitent son came home to his father. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#x5)
- Penitents in the old church wore plain clothes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#x6)
- He was truly penitent and promised not to lie again. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/#x7)

### Note

Adjective and noun; formal. Adverb: penitently. Opposite: unrepentant. Related: penance, repent. Do not confuse with «penitentiary» (an old word for a prison, mainly USA).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «penitent» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penitent/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«penitent» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/penitent.html) on Mova free.