From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcontritecon‧trite /ˈkɒntraɪt $ ˈkɑːn-/ adjective formal REGRET/FEEL SORRYfeeling guilty and sorry for something bad that you have done a contrite apology —contritely adverb —contrition /kənˈtrɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
contrite• Her tone was contrite and I thought Puddy was going to get all choked up.• Grimly, Auguste marched back through the tent into the kitchen, with a contrite Boris trailing behind.• Mercy should be shown to the contrite, but the community needed to be reassured that the contrition was genuine.• Immediately contrite, Mike crouched by Adam and lifted his head: it lolled sideways.• Another kid might be contrite or repentant or maybe subdued.• She was not contrite or sorry or any of the things she should have been.• His touch was contrite, perhaps ashamed, but running hot beneath its gentleness.• A few days later, I received a contrite telephone call from the store, saying there had been a mistake.Origin contrite (1200-1300) Old French contrit, from Latin, past participle of conterere “to rub together, bruise”, from com- ( → COM-) + terere “to rub” 