Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Contrition

Con·tri′tion (kŏn·trĭsh′ŭn), n. [F. contrition, L. contritio.] 1. The act of grinding or ribbing to powder; attrition; friction; rubbing. [Obs.]

The breaking of their parts into less parts by contrition. Sir I. Newton.

2. The state of being contrite; deep sorrow and repentance for sin, because sin is displeasing to God; humble penitence; through repentance.

My future days shall be one whole contrition. Dryden.

Syn. — repentance; penitence; humiliation; compunction; self-reproach; remorse. — Contrition, Attrition, repentance. — Contrition is deep sorrow and self-condemnation, with through repetance for sin because it is displeasing to God, and implies a feeling of love toward God. Attrition is sorrow for sin, or imperfect repentance produced by fear of punishment or a sense of the baseness of sin. Repentance is a penitent renunciation of, and turning from, sin; thorough repentance produces a new life. Repentance is often used as synonymous with contrition. See Compunction.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.