Meaning & use
repent
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Meanings
verbintransitiveformalreligion
To feel deep regret about something wrong you have done and decide to change your ways.
Grammar: Usually has no object; the wrongdoing follows of or for: repent of your sins.
Patterns
- repent of something
- repent for something
- repent
The preacher urged the crowd to repent before it was too late.
He repented of his cruelty and spent the rest of his life helping others.
She never repented for what she had said, even years later.
verbtransitiveold-fashionedliterary
To regret something you did and wish you had acted differently, without any religious meaning.
Grammar: Takes an object: repent a decision. This use is old-fashioned and now rare.
Patterns
- repent something
He soon repented his hasty promise to lend the money.
You will repent this choice before the winter is over.
She repented her harsh words as soon as the door closed.
Word forms
| third person singular | repents |
|---|---|
| past tense | repented |
| past participle | repented |
| -ing form | repenting |
Common combinations
- repent of your sins
- The monk asked the villagers to repent of their sins.
- repent at leisure
- Marry in haste, repent at leisure, as the old saying goes.
- truly repent
- The prisoner claimed that he had truly repented.
- refuse to repent
- The leader refused to repent, even when the court gave him another chance.
- urge someone to repent
- The pamphlet urged readers to repent and change their lives.
Synonyms and how they differ
- regret
- Regret only means feeling sorry, while repent also includes a decision to change your behavior.
- atone
- Atone focuses on making up for a wrong through action, whereas repent is mainly the inner change of heart.
- apologize
- Apologize is something you say to another person, but repent can be a private feeling toward your conscience or God.
- reform
- Reform stresses the actual change in behavior and has no suggestion of religious regret.
Opposites
Word family
- repentance noun
- deep sorrow for wrongdoing together with a resolve to change
- repentant adjective
- feeling or showing sincere regret for wrongdoing
- unrepentant adjective
- showing no regret for something wrong
- repentantly adverb
- in a way that shows regret
Commonly confused: repent or regret?
repent vs regret
Regret is much more common and can apply to any mistake, large or small. Repent is stronger and suggests moral or religious wrongdoing.
Practice
Choose the best word to complete the sentence: The old criminal wanted to ___ of his past and start again.
Choose one answer.
Repent of is the fixed pattern for feeling deep regret about wrongdoing and wanting to change. Apologize would need a person to say sorry to, and complain and hesitate do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “repent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.