Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Repent?

\Re"pent\ (r?"p?nt), a. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.] 1. (Bot.) Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. --Gray. 2. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Reptant}.
\Re*pent"\ (r?-p?nt"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Repented}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Repenting}.] [F. se repentir; L. pref. re- re- + poenitere to make repent, poenitet me it repents me, I repent. See {Penitent}.] 1. To feel pain, sorrow, or regret, for what one has done or omitted to do. First she relents With pity; of that pity then repents. --Dryden. 2. To change the mind, or the course of conduct, on account of regret or dissatisfaction. Lest, peradventure, the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. --Ex. xiii. 17. 3. (Theol.) To be sorry for sin as morally evil, and to seek forgiveness; to cease to love and practice sin. Except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish. --Luke xii. 3.
\Re*pent"\, v. t. 1. To feel pain on account of; to remember with sorrow. I do repent it from my very soul. --Shak. 2. To feel regret or sorrow; -- used reflexively. My father has repented him ere now. --Dryden. 3. To cause to have sorrow or regret; -- used impersonally. [Archaic] ``And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth.'' --Gen. vi. 6.