remorse

English

Alternative forms

• remorce (obsolete)

Etymology

First attested circa 14th century as Middle English remors, from Old French remors, from Medieval Latin remorsus, from Latin remordeō (“I torment, I vex”, literally “I bite back”), from re- +‎ mordeō (“I bite”). More at remord.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: rĭ-môrsʹ, IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈmɔː(ɹ)s/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (US) enPR: rĭ-môrsʹ, IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈmɔɹs/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)s
• Hyphenation: re‧morse

Noun

remorse (countable and uncountable, plural remorses)

1. A feeling of regret or sadness for doing wrong or sinning.
   • 2014 March 1, Rocksheng Zhong, Madelon Baranoski, Neal Feigenson, Larry Davidson, Alec Buchanan, Howard V. Zonana, “So You’re Sorry? The Role of Remorse in Criminal Law”, in Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, Volume 42, Issue 1‎^[1], pages 39–48:

     In criminal proceedings, empirical studies have shown that remorse plays an important role in observers’ judgments of defendants.

   • 1897, Oscar Wilde, De Profundis:

     Failure, disgrace, poverty, sorrow, despair, suffering, tears even, the broken words that come from lips in pain, remorse that makes one walk on thorns, conscience that condemns . . . —all these were things of which I was afraid.

2. (obsolete) Sorrow; pity; compassion.
   • c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:

     This is the bloodiest shame,
     The wildest savagery, the vilest stroke,
     That ever wall-eyed wrath or staring rage
     Presented to the tears of soft remorse.

Synonyms

• (regret or sadness for doing wrong): agenbite, compunction, contrition, penitence, repentance, rue, self-reproach
• See also Thesaurus:remorse

Hypernyms

• regret, sadness

Derived terms

Terms derived from "remorse"

• buyer's remorse
• remorseless
• seller's remorse

Related terms

Terms related to "remorse"

• mordant
• morsel
• remorseful
• remorsefully
• remorseless
• remorselessly

Translations

feeling of regret or sadness for doing wrong or sinning

• Arabic: نَدَم (ar) m (nadam), وَخَز الضَّمِير m (waḵaz aḍ-ḍamīr)
• Armenian: զղջանք (hy) (zġǰankʻ)
• Asturian: remordimientu m
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: му́кі сумле́ння f pl (múki sumljénnja), дако́ры сумле́ння f pl (dakóry sumljénnja), згрызо́ты сумле́ння f pl (zhryzóty sumljénnja), ка́янне n (kájannje)
• Bengali: অনুশোচনা (bn) (onuśōcona)
• Bulgarian: угризе́ния на съвестта́ n pl (ugrizénija na sǎvesttá), разка́яние (bg) n (razkájanie)
• Catalan: remordiment m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 悔恨 (zh) (huǐhèn), 內疚／内疚 (zh) (nèijiù), 良心的呵責／良心的呵责 (liángxīn de hēzé)

• Czech: lítost (cs) f, výčitky svědomí f pl
• Danish: skyldfølelse c, anger c, samvittighedsnag n
• Dutch: berouw (nl) n, gewetenswroeging (nl) f
• Esperanto: memriproĉo
• Estonian: südametunnistusepiinad pl
• Finnish: katumus (fi), tunnonvaiva, tunnontuska (fi)
• French: remords (fr) m pl, componction (fr) f
• Galician: remordemento (gl) m, remorso (gl) m
• Georgian: სინანული (sinanuli)
• German: Reue (de) f, Gewissensbisse (de) pl
• Greek: τύψη (el) f (týpsi), ενοχή (el) f (enochí)
• Hungarian: bűntudat (hu), lelkifurdalás (hu), lelkiismeret-furdalás (hu)
• Interlingua: remorso
• Irish: doilíos
• Italian: rimorso (it)
• Japanese: 良心の呵責 (りょうしんのかしゃく, ryōshin no kashaku), 悔悟 (ja) (かいご, kaigo)
• Khmer: វិប្បដិសារី (km) (vɨppaʼdesaarəy)
• Korean: 죄의식(罪意識) (joe'uisik), 자책감(自責感) (ko) (jachaekgam), 회오(悔悟) (hoe'o)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: پەشیمانی (ckb) (peşîmanî)

  Northern Kurdish: poşmanî (ku) f

• Latin: cōnscientia f
• Latvian: sirdsapziņas pārmetums m
• Lithuanian: sąžinės priekaištai m pl
• Macedonian: грижа на совеста f (griža na sovesta), каење n (kaenje)
• Malayalam: പശ്ചാത്താപം (ml) (paścāttāpaṁ), കുറ്റബോധം (kuṟṟabōdhaṁ)
• Maori: kaniawheatanga, kaniawhea
• Middle English: remors
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: гэмшил (mn) (gemšil)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: anger (no) m, samvittighetsnag n

• Old English: hrēow f
• Ottoman Turkish: اوگنج (evgenc)
• Plautdietsch: Schultjefeel n
• Polish: wyrzuty sumienia (pl) m pl, skrucha (pl) f
• Portuguese: remorsos m pl, remordimento m
• Romanian: remușcare (ro) f, regret (ro) n
• Russian: угрызе́ния со́вести n pl (ugryzénija sóvesti), раска́яние (ru) n (raskájanije), сожале́ние (ru) n (sožalénije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: грижа савести f, грижа савјести f, грижња савести f, грижња савјести f

  Roman: griža savesti f, griža savjesti f, grižnja savesti f, grižnja savjesti f

• Slovak: ľútosť f, výčitky svedomia f pl
• Slovene: kesanje n, obžalovanje n, kes (sl) m
• Spanish: remordimiento (es) m, compunción f
• Swedish: ånger (sv) c, samvetskval (sv) n
• Thai: สำนึกผิด (sǎm-nʉ́k-pìt), การเสียดาย (kwaam-sǐia-daai)
• Ukrainian: му́ки сумлі́ння f pl (múky sumlínnja), каяття́ (uk) n (kajattjá), му́ки со́вісті f pl (múky sóvisti)
• Vietnamese: hối hận (vi)
• Welsh: edifeirwch m

See also

• apology

Verb

remorse (third-person singular simple present remorses, present participle remorsing, simple past and past participle remorsed)

1. To experience remorse; to regret.
   • 1689, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding:

     And if we look abroad, to take a view of men as they are, we shall find that they remorse in one place, for doing or omitting that which others, in another place, think they merit by.

   • 2009, Pankaj Arora, Sex Education In Schools, page 142:

     When they have accepted their advice and have some upleasant experience then they remorse.

   • 2020, Donald Werner, The Mark of the Beast or the Seal of Yahoveh God?, page 7:

     Then with godly sorrow they remorse with a humble heart, and they repent.

Anagrams

• Roemers, roemers

Latin

Participle

remorse

1. vocative masculine singular of remorsus

Middle English

Noun

remorse

1. Alternative form of remors