repenting
Turning from sin
Repenting is expressing or feeling sincere regret for wrongdoing.
The word carries religious weight—repenting before God, repenting of sins—but applies to secular contexts too: He died repenting the choices that cost him his family.
To repent is to turn away from past behavior, not merely to feel bad about it.
Moral self-reproach
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- remorseGuilt for wrongdoing
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
anguish · regret · compunction · grief · heartache · contrition · woe · distress
Admission of wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- redemptionRecovery or moral restoration
- salvationDeliverance from harm
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
prayer · sin · faith · grace · mercy · atonement · sanctification · purification
Statement acknowledging wrongdoing
- amendsCompensation for wrongdoing
- reparationCompensation for injury done
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
atonement · reconciling · restoration · acknowledgment · redress · compensation · mending · healing
To make different
- amendModify or correct
- rectifyTo make something right
- turningAct of rotating
- transformationThorough change in form
renewal · rehabilitation · resolve · commitment · self-improvement · reformation · vow · pledge
guilt
Moral self-reproach
self-reproach · anguish · regret · compunction · grief · heartache · contrition · woe · distress · self-condemnation
confession
Admission of wrongdoing
- absolutionFormal clearing of guilt
- redemptionRecovery or moral restoration
- salvationDeliverance from harm
forgiveness · prayer · sin · faith · grace · mercy · atonement · sanctification · purification · soul
apology
Statement acknowledging wrongdoing
- amendsCompensation for wrongdoing
- reparationCompensation for injury done
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
forgiveness · atonement · reconciling · restoration · acknowledgment · redress · compensation · mending · healing · humility
change
To make different
transformation · renewal · rehabilitation · resolve · commitment · self-improvement · reformation · vow · pledge · renunciation
- taking responsibilityowning up, admitting fault, confessing, apologizing, accountability
repentingunrepenting
Feeling no remorse
defying · unrepentingly · doubling down · rationalizing · stonewalling
repentingpersisting
Continuing through difficulty
continuing · relapsing · repeating · carrying on · backsliding
penance, repentant, penitent, repentance, penitence, repent, penitentiary, unrepentant, impenitent