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
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Recent Examples of contriteness
Recently, however, pride has partly given way to contriteness as President Emmanuel Macron, aware of France’s legacy as a former heavy-handed empire, has attempted to make amends for mistakes during the country’s imperial past.
—
The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2025
The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contriteness
Noun
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The judge in his federal case, Tanya Chutkan, had a different take on his sense of remorse, writing to the admissions office at the Citadel to ask officials to give him a second chance.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
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Roberts expressed remorse at sentencing, the outlet reported.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
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But there’s guilt for Black artists when success means crossing over.—
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson,
VIBE.com,
7 June 2026
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Carrying that guilt for decades has manifested in a quietly simmering rage that comes out in crimes of passion, including killing his wife.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
7 June 2026
Noun
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For Koji, change can’t come soon enough — the years of fighting for justice for his father have burdened him with guilt and regret.—
Yumi Asada,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
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This majestic sequence delivers a lifetime’s outpouring of love’s inadequacies and frustrations, of grief and regret, of gratitude along with candid acceptance of loss, and of self-questioning that never shakes the foundations of the family—her ferocious commitment to the children.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contriteness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contriteness. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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