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repent

/ɹɪˈpɛnt/verb, adjective

repent is spelled R-E-P-E-N-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, repent means “To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of"” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in repent?

Letters6: R-E-P-E-N-T
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is repent?

Repent appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce repent?

  • /ɹɪˈpɛnt/

As an adjective (“Creeping along the ground”): /ˈɹiːpənt/.

Repent has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-repent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of repent

  • repents present, singular, he/she/it
  • repenting participle, present
  • repented participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does repent mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of".

    Marry in haste, repent at leisure.

  2. 2

    To be sorry for sin as morally evil, and to seek forgiveness; to cease to practice sin and to love.

  3. 3

    To feel pain on account of; to remember with sorrow.

  4. 4

    To be sorry for, to regret.

    I repent my sins.

  5. 5

    archaicTo cause to have sorrow or regret.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo cause (oneself) to feel pain or regret.

    But if that I knewe what his name hight, For clatering of me I would him ſone quight; For his falſe lying, of that I ſpake never, I could make him ſhortly repent him forever: […]

  7. 7

    archaicTo change one's mind.

adjective

  1. 1

    Creeping along the ground.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Repent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchse repentir (to feel sorrow or regret for what one has done…), repentir (to feel pain on account of, to remember with…)
Portuguesearrepender-se (to feel sorrow or regret for what one has done…), arrepender (to feel pain on account of, to remember with…)
Spanisharrepentirse, repentirse (to feel sorrow or regret for what one has done…), arrepentir (to feel pain on account of, to remember with…)
Germanbereuen, bedauern (to feel pain on account of, to remember with…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does repent come from?

From Middle English repenten, from Old French repentir, from Vulgar Latin *repaenitīre, from Late Latin paenitīre, from Classical Latin paenitēre. Compare Modern French repentir.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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