as in remorseful
feeling sorrow for a wrong that one has done
being contrite is not enough to spare you a detention if you're caught skipping class
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Examples of contrite in a Sentence
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Everyone would be expecting a contrite performance from him, tepid jokes about male-female relationships, jokes about how horrible men were, and so on.
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Camille Bordas, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Others were less contrite, blaming the palace for a shoddy communications strategy and a lack of transparency.
—Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2024
In earlier versions of the IPO paperwork, current CEO Huffman struck a contrite note.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024
The judge ultimately decided against a jail sentence, saying Epps appeared contrite and had done admirable work in the community.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrite 
Camille Bordas, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Others were less contrite, blaming the palace for a shoddy communications strategy and a lack of transparency.
—Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2024
In earlier versions of the IPO paperwork, current CEO Huffman struck a contrite note.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024
The judge ultimately decided against a jail sentence, saying Epps appeared contrite and had done admirable work in the community.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrite
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contrite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Contrite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contrite. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
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