English Vocabulary Builder Practice Test 2026 – Your All-in-One Guide to Master Vocabulary Skills!

The idea here is a sincere, repentant feeling after doing something wrong. Contrition captures that genuine moral remorse and the intent to change and seek forgiveness. It’s not just feeling sorry; it implies a readiness to repair the harm and to reform behavior.

Remorse also involves deep guilt, but contrition emphasizes not only the feeling but the moral commitment to make things right. Sorrow is a broader sadness and doesn’t necessarily carry the moral dimension of repentance or the aim to amend the wrong. Penance refers to actions taken to atone, rather than the inner feeling itself.

So the best fit for deep regret and remorse for wrongdoing is contrition.