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Words / C / General

contrition

noun/kənˈtrɪʃn/

C1CEFR level
60/100Rarity: rare
FormalRegister

Sincere remorse or sorrow for having done wrong.

There was no contrition in his statement, only a list of excuses.

Similar: remorse, penitence, repentance

Origin: From Latin contritio (a grinding down), from conterere (to wear away).

Topic: remorse in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: remorse