re·pent 1
(rĭ-pĕnt′)v. re·pent·ed, re·pent·ing, re·pents
v.intr.1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite: "[He] liked to visit prisoners and admonish them to repent of their ways" (Adam Hochschild).
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.You'd better accept their offer before they repent.
3. To become a more moral or religious person as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
v.tr.1. To feel regret or self-reproach for: repent one's sins.
2. Archaic To cause (one or oneself) to feel remorse or regret: "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth" (King James Bible).
[Middle English repenten, from Old French repentir : re-, re- + pentir, to be sorry (from Vulgar Latin *paenitīre, from Latin paenitēre).]
re·pent′er n.
re·pent 2
(rē′pənt)adj. Biology Prostrate or growing along the ground.
[Latin rēpēns, rēpent-, present participle of rēpere, to creep.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.