repent

英 [rɪ'pent] 美 [rɪ'pent]

v.后悔；悔悟；忏悔

GRE

◉Etymology

"Repent" 这个词最早出现于1300年左右，来自古法语 "repentir"，由前缀 "re-"（可能表示强调，意为“非常”）和 "*penitire"（来自拉丁语 "poenitire"，意为“使悲伤”）组成，词根 "pen-" 与 "pain"（痛苦）和 "punish"（惩罚）相关。

◉外刊例句

① 《纽约时报》 (The New York Times), 2024年4月5日

“After years of living with the consequences of his decisions, he finally began to repent and seek forgiveness.”

“在经历了多年生活在决定后果中的痛苦后，他终于开始感到悔恨，并寻求宽恕。”

② 《华盛顿邮报》 (The Washington Post), 2023年7月20日

“The politician expressed regret for his past actions but failed to show genuine repentance for his mistakes.”

“这位政治家对过去的行为表示遗憾，但未能对自己的错误表现出真正的悔改。”

◉经典名著

在威廉·莎士比亚的悲剧《麦克白》（Macbeth）中，“repent” 用来表达角色的悔恨：

“Macbeth’s inability to repent for his heinous crimes led him further into a spiral of madness and despair.”

“麦克白无法为他的恶行悔改，使他进一步陷入了疯狂和绝望的漩涡。”

◉Usage Examples

(1) He is kind and gracious to all sinners who repent.

(2) Bitterly did we repent our decision.

(3) Marry in haste, repent at leisure.

(4) Have you nothing to repent of?

(5) He repented what he has done.

(1) 他对忏悔的罪人一概慈悲为怀。

(2) 我们非常后悔做此决定。

(3) [谚]结婚太急，后悔莫及; 草率结婚必后悔。

(4) 你没有可懊悔的事吗？

(5) 他懊悔他的所作所为。

◉Usage Notes

The verb repent means "to feel sorry for something you've done." When you repent, you acknowledge what you did and vow to change your ways.

The word repent comes from the Old French word repentir, which means, "to feel regret for sins or crimes." If you cheat on an exam in school, and feel guilty afterwards, you might repent for your bad behavior by confessing to your teacher. The verb repent is often used in a religious context: when you repent, you try to make up for what you've done, promise to avoid sin in the future and devote yourself to God.

◉Colins

1[VERB 动词]后悔；忏悔；悔悟 If you repent, you show or say that you are sorry for something wrong you have done. [V] [V of/for n] [Also V n]

Those who refuse to repent, he said, will be punished...

那些拒不悔改的人，他说，将会受到惩罚。

Did he repent of anything in his life?

他一生中有什么后悔的事情吗？