Contrition

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Contrition \Con*tri"tion\, n. [F. contrition, L. contritio.]
     1. The act of grinding or ribbing to powder; attrition;
        friction; rubbing. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The breaking of their parts into less parts by


              contrition.                           --Sir I.
                                                    Newton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The state of being contrite; deep sorrow and repentance
        for sin, because sin is displeasing to God; humble
        penitence; through repentance.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              My future days shall be one whole contrition.
                                                    --Dryden.
  
     Syn: repentance; penitence; humiliation; compunction;
          self-reproach; remorse.
  
     Usage: {Contrition}, {Attrition}, {repentance}. -- Contrition
            is deep sorrow and self-condemnation, with through
            repetance for sin because it is displeasing to God,
            and implies a feeling of love toward God. Attrition is
            sorrow for sin, or imperfect repentance produced by
            fear of punishment or a sense of the baseness of sin.
            Repentance is a penitent renunciation of, and turning
            from, sin; thorough repentance produces a new life.
            Repentance is often used as synonymous with
            contrition. See {Compunction}.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  contrition
       n : sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation [syn: {attrition},
            {contriteness}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  35 Moby Thesaurus words for "contrition":
     abject apology, acknowledgment, apologies, apology, attrition,
     ayenbite of inwit, bitterness, breast-beating, compunction,
     confession, contriteness, excuse, grief, mea culpa, penance,
     penitence, penitently, regret, regretfulness, regrets, regretting,
     remorse, remorse of conscience, remorsefulness, repentance,
     repining, rue, ruth, shame, shamefacedness, shamefastness,
     shamefulness, sorriness, sorrow, wistfulness