Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun penitent

1 sense of penitent

Sense 1
penitent -- ((Roman Catholic Church) a person who repents for wrongdoing (a Roman Catholic may be admitted to penance under the direction of a confessor))
       => religious person -- (a person who manifests devotion to a deity)

Antonyms of adj penitent

1 sense of penitent

Sense 1
penitent (vs. impenitent), repentant (vs. unrepentant) -- (feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds)

impenitent (vs. penitent), unrepentant (vs. repentant), unremorseful -- (not penitent or remorseful)

Similarity of adj penitent

1 sense of penitent

Sense 1
penitent (vs. impenitent), repentant (vs. unrepentant) -- (feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds)
       => contrite, remorseful, rueful, ruthful -- (feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses)
       => penitential, penitentiary -- (showing or constituting penance; "penitential tears"; "wrote a penitential letter apologizing for her hasty words")
          Also See-> ashamed#1; regretful#1, sorry#1, bad#5