Webster's English Dictionary

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penitence

pen.i.tence \'pen-*-t*n(t)s\ n [ME, fr. OF, fr. ML poenitentia, alter. of L 
   paenitentia regret, fr]. paenitent-, penitens, prp. : the quality or state 
   of being penitent : sorrow for sins or faultsM, REMORSE mean regret for sin 
   or wrongdoing. PENITENCE implies humble realization of and regret for one's 
   wrongdoing; REPENTANCE suggests additionally an awareness of one's general 
   moral shortcomings and a resolve to change; CONTRITION suggests penitence 
   shown by signs of grief or pain; COMPUNCTION implies a painful sting of 
   conscience; REMORSE suggests prolonged and insistent self-reproach and 
   mental anguish for consequences that cannot be escaped SYN syn PENITENCE, 
   REPENTANCE, CONTRITION, COMPUNCTION)