repenter

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).

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[Middle English repenten, from Old French repentir : re-, re- + pentir, to be sorry (from Vulgar Latin *paenitīre, from Latin paenitēre).]

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re·pent′er n.

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re·pent ²

 (rē′pənt)

adj. Biology

Prostrate or growing along the ground.

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[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.