contrite
adjective/kənˈtraɪt/
Frequency rank: #19,266 most common English word
Meaning
Feeling or showing sincere remorse for having done something wrong.

Example sentence
After breaking his sister's favorite mug, he felt genuinely contrite and apologized right away.
Synonyms & related words
- remorseful
- sorry
- repentant
- apologetic
Practice this word in the quiz
More words in ranks 19,201–19,300
- semioticsThe study of signs and symbols and how they create meaning.
- stagnateto stop developing, growing, or moving; to become inactive or dull.
- acquiesceto accept or comply with something without protest.
- anisotropicHaving physical properties that differ depending on the direction of measurement.
- buttockEither of the two rounded fleshy parts of the human body that form the bottom.
- crossroada point at which a crucial decision must be made; also, a place where two roads meet.
- electrolyticrelating to or involving electrolysis, a process that uses electric current to drive a chemical reaction.
- empiricismThe theory that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience and evidence.
- hematiteA common iron oxide mineral that is often dark red or silvery-black and is an important ore of iron.
- limbicrelating to a group of brain structures involved in emotion, motivation, and memory.