contriteness

8.4

A deep feeling of regret and sorrow for doing something wrong

noun
/kənˈtraɪtnəs/

Formal

: contrición

After realizing her mistake, she expressed true contriteness for her actions.

Examples

You can't absolve yourself with a show of contriteness now.

Fiction book (1993)
"Yes, Mama," she said with feigned contriteness.

Fiction book (1994)
His contriteness was evident when he apologized to his friend for being late.
The child's contriteness showed when he admitted to breaking the vase.

Synonyms

guilt

vscontriteness

375 2.4

A feeling of being sorry and responsible for doing something wrong

is typically deeper and often involves fear motivated sorrow for sin

remorse

vscontriteness

156 4.5

A deep, painful feeling of regret and guilt after doing something wrong

is commonly motivated by fear of punishment rather than pure painful regret

repentance

vscontriteness

31 6.6

A feeling of deep regret and a wish to change after doing wrong

is more fear motivated and less about sincere inner change or apology

penance

vscontriteness

27 7.4

A feeling of deep regret and an action to show you are sorry

is mainly an internal sorrow state often motivated by fear rather than acts

contrition

vscontriteness

Formal

19 8.4

A deep feeling of regret and sorrow for something you did wrong

is often motivated by fear of punishment rather than only religion

guilty conscience

vscontriteness

16 4.2

A feeling of being sorry and worried after doing something wrong

tends to be deeper and often driven by fear rather than mere awareness

compunction

vscontriteness

Formal

10 9.6

A feeling of guilt that stops you from doing something bad or follows it

focuses on deep sorrow often driven by fear, not only moral hesitation

rue

vscontriteness

5 7.9

A feeling of being sorry about something you did or missed

is usually deeper, stronger, and often motivated by fear of punishment

penitence

vscontriteness

4 7.9

A feeling of being sorry for something you did wrong

often involves fear of punishment as a main motive rather than only sorrow

guilt feelings

vscontriteness

1 3.9

Feeling sorry and responsible for doing something wrong

is deeper and includes fear based sorrow about moral or religious wrongdoing

guiltiness

vscontriteness

1 4.9

A feeling that you did something wrong or illegal

is an emotional sorrowful state often driven by fear rather than legal status

attrition

vscontriteness

Specialized

1 9.5

Feeling sorry for sin mainly because you fear punishment rather than out of love

is often fear motivated but may include other kinds of sorrow

self-reproach

vscontriteness

1 7.1

A feeling of blaming yourself for something you did wrong

focuses more on deep sorrow often motivated by fear rather than self blame

ruefulness

vscontriteness

8.4

A feeling of sadness and regret about a past mistake

is usually deeper and more fear oriented than simple sad regret

sorriness

vscontriteness

6.3

A feeling of regret or sadness about something you did

is deeper sorrow focused on wrongdoing and often motivated by fear

Antonyms

unrepentance

8.9

Not feeling sorry or guilty for something bad you did

How Contrite

remorse

156 4.5

contriteness

Formal

8.4

penitence

4 7.9

sorrow

243 2.1

regret

292 1.0

Surface Forms

contriteness singular

contritenesses plural

Morphology

contriteness = contrite (transparent) = contrite + ness

Formed by a straightforward noun derivation from the adjective 'contrite' meaning 'state of being remorseful', which is directly understandable to learners.

Etymology

Contriteness comes from the Latin word contritus, meaning 'worn down' or 'crushed', which gives the picture of a person made small by guilt. It is the noun form of contrite, so contriteness means the deep sorrow and regret you feel after doing something wrong.