remorsefulness
Guilty conscience pangs
Remorsefulness is the quality of feeling deep regret or guilt over something one has done wrong.
The word emphasizes an ongoing state rather than a momentary pang—someone displaying remorsefulness carries visible weight from their wrongdoing: His remorsefulness was evident in how he avoided eye contact.
The noun is less common than the adjective remorseful.
Remorseful state over misdeeds
- contriteFeeling guilt over misdeeds
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
apology · amends · reparation · expiation · redemption · absolution · forgiveness · pardon
Painful awareness of failure
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
- self-blameAttributing fault to oneself
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
- self-condemnationBlaming yourself for wrongdoing
self-accusation · blameworthiness · conscience · pangs · fault · responsibility · torment · burden
Sorrow over past actions
- sorrowfulFilled with grief
- ruefulnessSorrowful regret
- lamentationPassionate expression of grief
- griefIntense sorrow from loss
woefulness · mourning · heartache · anguish · tearful · heavyhearted · melancholy · despondent
contrition
Remorseful state over misdeeds
- contriteFeeling guilt over misdeeds
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
confession · apology · amends · reparation · expiation · redemption · absolution · forgiveness · pardon · reformation
shame
Painful awareness of failure
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
- self-blameAttributing fault to oneself
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
self-condemnation · self-accusation · blameworthiness · conscience · pangs · fault · responsibility · torment · burden · haunted
regret
Sorrow over past actions
- sorrowfulFilled with grief
- ruefulnessSorrowful regret
- lamentationPassionate expression of grief
grief · woefulness · mourning · heartache · anguish · tearful · heavyhearted · melancholy · despondent · mournful
remorsefulnessremorselessness
State of feeling no regret
impenitence · unrepentance · guiltlessness · shamelessness · defiance
remorsefulnesshardheartedness
Absence of pity
cold-heartedness · heartlessness · hard-heartedness · moral blindness · callousness
remorse, remorseful, remorseless, remorselessly, remorselessness, remorsefully, unremorseful