Penitent is an adjective that means feeling regret for past sins.

Our word of the day takes its origin from Middle English where it meant ‘regretful.’ In its earliest incarnation, it was used often by the Catholic church, but penitent can refer to any kind of regret a person may have. For example: I felt penitent about my angry outburst at the bar and, in retrospect, I deeply regret lashing out at Ryan simply for being a Red Sox fan.