Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

penitent

/ˈpɛnɪtənt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English

Syllables
pen-i-tent
IPA
/ˈpɛnɪtənt/
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Feeling pain or sorrow on account of one's sins or offenses; feeling sincere guilt.

adj

Doing penance.

noun

One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of their transgressions.

noun

One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.

noun

One under the direction of a confessor.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin paenitēns, poenitēns (“penitent”), present participle of paeniteō, poeniteō (“to cause to repent; to regret, repent”). Doublet of penitente.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Inflected Forms

more penitent (comparative) most penitent (superlative) pænitent (alternative, archaic) penitant (alternative, obsolete) pœnitent (alternative, archaic) penitents (plural)

Derived Forms

nonpenitent penitence penitently unpenitent

Synonyms

repentant contrite remorseful penitent apologetic guilt-ridden

Questions

How do you pronounce penitent?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɛnɪtənt/.
What does penitent mean?
Feeling pain or sorrow on account of one's sins or offenses; feeling sincere guilt.
Where does penitent come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce penitent

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “penitent”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɛnɪtənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “penitent”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “penitent” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.