Definition of CONTRITE

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.

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 on the Web

In court Uber had taken a contrite and muted stance, promising to do more to provide support for riders and drivers, including launching a telephone hotline for passengers. — The Economist, "Contrition wins the day for Uber in a big market," 28 June 2018 Since then, her tweets have fluctuated between the bellicose and contrite. — Greg Braxton, latimes.com, "The battles of Roseanne Barr and why a spinoff show could lead to another epic fight," 14 June 2018 Did anyone in Mogincual feel contrite, or somehow wiser for the tragic events of 2009? — Longreads, "Where Have You Hidden the Cholera?," 5 Apr. 2018 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

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.