contrite \kun-TRYTE\ adjective
: feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming
Examples:
Mom finally let Jamie off the hook for the prank when she believed he understood why
she was angry and was truly contrite.
"A contrite, clean-shaven Joaquin Phoenix returned to David Letterman and his 'Late
Show' last night to confirm that his February 2009 dead man walking appearance was in
fact a stunt. He apologized, and Letterman -- who seemed to suggest that he was not in
on the ruse -- happily accepted the apology." -- From an article by Verne Gay in Newsday
(New York), September 23, 2010
Did you know?
A person who is contrite may have rubbed someone the wrong way and caused bruised
feelings -- and there is a hint about the origins of the word in that thought. "Contrite"
came to English by way of Anglo-French from the Latin verb "conterere,"
meaning "to grind" or "to bruise." "Conterere," in turn, was formed by combining the
prefix "com-" and "terere," meaning "to rub." If you've guessed that "trite" is a cousin
of "contrite" (through "terere"), you are correct. Other "terere" descendants in English
include "detriment" and "tribulation," and very possibly the familiar verb "try."
