27
regret(noun, action, distress, shame, blame)
19
contrition(noun, feeling, worry, concern, distress)
18
repentance(noun, feeling, bad, worry, concern)
17
remorse(noun, upset, feeling, worry, concern)
13
compunction(noun, upset, feeling, worry, concern)
13
penance(noun, distress, shame, sorrow, woe)
10
sorrow(noun, worry, concern, shame, woe)
10
attrition(noun, feeling, distress, shame, sorrow)
9
contriteness(noun, feeling, distress, shame, sorrow)
8
grief(noun, worry, concern, distress, shame)
8
rue(noun, feeling, distress, shame, sorrow)
7
qualm(noun, worry, concern, distress, anxiety)
7
self-reproach(noun, worry, concern, distress, shame)
7
shame(noun, blame, sorrow, fault, responsibility)
6
humiliation(noun, distress, shame, sorrow, degradation)
6
lamentation(noun, worry, concern, shame, woe)
5
atonement(noun, shame, sorrow, compensation, regret)
5
degradation(noun, distress, shame, sorrow, repentance)
5
distress(noun, shame, sorrow, degradation, repentance)
5
remorsefulness(noun, feeling, distress, shame, sorrow)
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APASmart Define. (2015). penitence thesaurus. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from https://smartdefine.org/penitence/thesaurus/synonyms
ChicagoSmart Define. 2015. "penitence thesaurus" https://smartdefine.org/penitence/thesaurus/synonyms (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardSmart Define 2015, penitence thesaurus, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <https://smartdefine.org/penitence/thesaurus/synonyms>.
MLASmart Define. "penitence thesaurus" 13 April 2015. Web. 20 September 2026. <https://smartdefine.org/penitence/thesaurus/synonyms>