contrite

adjective con·trite \ kən-ˈtrīt also ˈkän-ˌtrīt \

|Updated on: 5 Jun 2018

Examples: contrite in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of contrite

: feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming

a contrite criminal

a contrite apology

contrite sighs

—

contritely

adverb

—

contriteness

noun

See contrite defined for English-language learners

See contrite defined for kids

contrite was our Word of the Day on 01/24/2018. Hear the podcast!

Examples of contrite in a Sentence

Allbaugh apologized, though it was clear he was hardly contrite. —Christopher Cooper &Robert Block, Disaster, 2006
… Teddy was immediately contrite. "That was stupid of me. Forgive me." —Jack Higgins, The President's Daughter, 1998
At the airport, the meter registers nine pounds, and of course he had said six or seven. I have a sense now of his feeling somewhat contrite, or perhaps only abashed. —Renata Adler, Pitch Dark, 1983
… for days afterward, afraid of himself and worried about his sanity, he would be contrite and terribly ashamed. —John Nichols, The Milagro Beanfield War, 1974
being contrite is not enough to spare you an arrest if you're caught shoplifting

Recent Examples of contrite from the Web

Men unyoked from their families, reeling from broken bonds, are the norm: some contrite and faithfully sending child support checks, others blowing all their money on meth, pickups and good times.

— Longreads, "Life on the Oil Frontier," 23 Apr. 2018
Both men were contrite (Rose should have taken note of that in 1989) and, in issuing his indefinite suspension, Rozelle took care to mention that neither player bet on or against their own teams.

— chris chase, For The Win, "11 biggest scandals in sports gambling history," 16 May 2018
The newly contrite company has tightened up its rules on data collection and sharing.

— benny evangelista, San Francisco Chronicle, "Facebook developers seek answers from Zuckerberg at F8," 30 Apr. 2018
But even allowing for some understandable defensiveness, Tesla's responses to criticism contrast with the more contrite public comments many consumer companies take after a fatality or serious problem, whether or not the blame is immediately clear.

— marco della cava, USA TODAY, "Elon Musk and Tesla pull few punches defending pioneering car company, even after accidents," 30 Apr. 2018
Furthermore, this shows Trump does not believe someone must be contrite to get a pardon.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Trump ‘Scooter’ Libby pardon sends a message to witnesses in Mueller probe," 13 Apr. 2018
Chastened by more than a year of controversies that included Russian meddling, the spread of misinformation and data misappropriation, Zuckerberg had to appear sufficiently contrite and cooperative before the senators, experts say.

— tracey lien, latimes.com, "Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shows support for the idea of regulation — but not the particulars," 11 Apr. 2018
In recent letters from prison, her father has struck a new contrite tone and expressed his continued desire to have a relationship with Tommy.

— jack dickey, SI.com, "Tommy Pham Waited Forever to Make It. Now, He's Got Plenty to Say About His Journey.," 2 Apr. 2018
After a few days of fumbling, Mark Zuckerberg finally struck a contrite tone and made some rare media appearances.

— matthew yglesias, Vox, "The week’s 4 most important political stories, explained," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contrite.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

A person who is contrite may have rubbed someone the wrong way and caused bruised feelings - and there is a hint about the origins of the word in that thought. Contrite came to English by way of Anglo-French from the Latin verb conterere, meaning "to grind" or "to bruise." Conterere, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix com- and terere, meaning "to rub." If you've guessed that trite is a cousin of contrite (through terere), you are correct. Other terere descendants in English include detriment and tribulation, and very possibly the familiar verb try.

Origin and Etymology of contrite

Middle English contrit, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin contritus, from Latin, past participle of conterere to grind, bruise, from com- + terere to rub — more at ¹throw

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year