Adjective a penitent gossip who had come to ask for forgiveness
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Her husband’s sudden, violent reaction to the joke, and his subsequent Best Actor speech that bobbed and weaved over the line between defiant and penitent, swallowed the rest of the night whole. Caroline Framke, Variety, 27 Mar. 2022 However, lawmakers returned six years later to reinstate the clergy-penitent privilege.Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2020 Even if absolution is denied, though, the exchange between penitent and confessor is to remain confidential.San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2019 As with McBride’s voice-over, which Pitt delivers in intimate tones — like a lover or penitent whispering confidences in your ear — the helmet alternately reveals and obscures the character, putting the narrative dynamic into visual terms.New York Times, 20 Sep. 2019 This rule applies, for example, to conversations between a lawyer and a client, between a priest and a penitent, and between a husband and wife.NBC News, 19 Nov. 2019 Stacked up one by one, the whole thing feels unrelenting, like a a permanent, penitent chorus, sung in harmony, museum to museum. .BostonGlobe.com, 11 Oct. 2019 The Rockets organization was similarly penitent, and rumors began to circulate that Morey, one of the league’s most talented executives, could lose his job. Nathaniel Friedman, The New Republic, 11 Oct. 2019 Ito was penitent in a meeting this week meant to air grievances and begin to heal disagreements, according to a New York Times report.Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2019
Noun
Aside from the legal arguments over whether Bishops Herrod and Mauzy were excused from their reporting obligations under the clergy-penitent privilege, critics of the inaction by the two bishops and the broader church have raised ethical issues. Michael Rezendes, The Arizona Republic, 4 Aug. 2022 Aside from the legal arguments over whether Bishops Herrod and Mauzy were excused from their reporting obligations under the clergy-penitent privilege, critics of the inaction by the two bishops and the broader church have raised ethical issues. Michael Rezendes, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Aug. 2022 Aside from the legal arguments over whether Bishops Herrod and Mauzy were excused from their reporting obligations under the clergy-penitent privilege, critics of the inaction by the two bishops and the broader church have raised ethical issues.The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Aug. 2022 In his verse—by turns, introspective, penitent, and hopeful—No Malice seems to express thoughts that Pusha never will. Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2022 Today is Good Friday, which means those who’ve been practicing a penitent and meat-free Lenten diet are nearing the end of their observance. Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2022 In the circumstances, Benedict’s plea for forgiveness—penitent in mood but not in substance—models a way of doing things that should be left behind. Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2022 The operative subtext here is that Mary Magdalene has gotten a raw deal through the millennia — often depicted as a penitent prostitute follower of Jesus.Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2022 In more recent years, Alfred Molina’s melancholic, David Suchet’s soulful innocent and John Malkovich’s penitent exile sought to dignify him. Bonnie Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French penitent, from Latin paenitent-, paenitens, from present participle of paenitēre to cause regret, feel regret, perhaps from paene almost