Meaning & use
to repent
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Meanings
verbintransitiveformalreligion
to feel deep regret for something wrong you have done and to decide to change your behavior.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'of' or 'for' before the wrong act: repent of your sins.
Patterns
- repent of something
- repent for something
- repent and believe
He repented of his cruelty and tried to make amends.
She urged the crowd to repent and start living honestly.
The king repented too late, after the damage was done.
verbtransitive or intransitiveformal
to feel sorry about a decision or action, without a religious meaning.
Grammar: Can take a direct object: repent the decision; or stand alone: he repented.
Patterns
- repent something
- repent doing something
She soon repented her hasty marriage.
He repented leaving the job when a better offer never came.
Word forms
| third person singular | repents |
|---|---|
| past tense | repented |
| past participle | repented |
| -ing form | repenting |
Common combinations
- repent of your sins
- The preacher called on everyone to repent of their sins.
- deeply repent
- She deeply repented the way she had treated her brother.
- repent and change
- He repented and changed his life completely.
- come to repent
- Years later, she came to repent her earlier choices.
Synonyms and how they differ
- regret
- Regret is milder and more everyday; it means you wish you had not done something, but it does not necessarily include a decision to change.
- atone
- Atonement means making up for a wrong, often through action, whereas repenting focuses on the inner feeling of sorrow and the decision to change.
- be sorry
- This is the plain, neutral expression; repent is stronger, more formal, and often religious.
Opposites
Word family
- repentance noun
- the act of feeling sorry and deciding to change
- repentant adjective
- feeling or showing that you are sorry for doing wrong
- unrepentant adjective
- showing no regret at all for something wrong
- penitent adjective
- formal word meaning sorry and willing to do something to make things right
Commonly confused: to repent or repeat?
to repent vs repeat
Repeat means to say or do something again; repent means to feel sorry for a wrong act. They sound a little alike but are completely different.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'repent' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Repent of something' means feel deep regret for a wrong act, so option 1 fits. Option 0 confuses 'repent' with 'went'; option 2 confuses it with 'repeat'; and option 3 uses the wrong grammar, since 'repent' does not take a person as object in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “to repent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.