# penitent

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpɛnɪtənt/ · frequency rank #48,407

## Definitions
1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of one's sins or offenses; feeling sincere guilt.
2. Doing penance.

## Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin paenitēns, poenitēns (“penitent”), present participle of paeniteō, poeniteō (“I cause to repent; I regret, repent”). Doublet of penitente.

## Common misspellings (12)
`epnitent`, `peintent`, `penietnt`, `penitennt`, `penitentt`, `penitetn`, `penitnet`, `penittent`, `pennitent`, `pentient`, `pneitent`, `ppenitent`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/penitent