as in remorse
a feeling of responsibility for wrongdoing
his determination to make things right again was seen as a sign of his sincere contriteness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contriteness
Noun
-
According to the fan, Nicholas Dickason, an 18-year-old Dallasite whose family owns season tickets four rows behind where Dumont sits, the Mavs governor expressed remorse for the decision to trade the star.—
Christian Clark,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025 -
But Coggins said that Salah still had not taken responsibility for his acts, and had expressed no remorse.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Robertas Petraitis, known from Lithuania’s 2026 Oscar contender The Southern Chronicles, stars as Andrius, who is full of grief and guilt after a masked intruder kills his secret lover Deividas (Elvinas Juodkazis), who is Lithuania’s most influential human rights activist.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Baramulla ultimately transcends its supernatural thriller form to become a parable about guilt, faith, and collective memory.—
Isadora Wandermurem,
Time,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
While many key figures—including Bush and then-Secretary of State Colin Powell—later expressed regret over the absence of WMDs and policy missteps, Cheney famously defended the invasion and the narrative around it in the following years.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
-
For viewers and those who had a hand in making the show, the only regret is that there isn’t more Patriot to devour.—
Claire McNear,
Rolling Stone,
8 Nov. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Contriteness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contriteness. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share