impenitent

See also: impénitent

English

WOTD – 3 June 2022

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English impenitent (“not penitent, unrepentant”), from Latin impaenitentem, the accusative feminine or masculine singular of impaenitēns (“unrepentant”), from im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + paenitēns (“contrite, penitent, regretting, repenting”) (the present active participle of paeniteō (“to be sorry, regret; to cause to repent; to repent”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- (“to hate; to hurt”)). The English word is analysable as im- +‎ penitent.

The noun is derived from the adjective.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɛnɪt(ə)nt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɛnət(ə)nt/, [-ɾ(ə)nt]
• Hyphenation: im‧pen‧it‧ent

Adjective

impenitent

1. Not penitent; specifically (Christianity), not repenting of one's sins; unrepentant.

   Synonym: obdurate

   • 1532, Thomas More, “The Confutacion of [William] Tyndale’s Aunswere […]. The Recapitulacion of all Tyndalles Processe Concernyng the Churche, from the Begynning hetherto.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published April 1557, →OCLC, book IV (Whether the Church can Erre), page 613, column 1:

     [I]f they mende and repente better, will in ſtede of purgatorye which they nowe mocke & ieſte at, wepe and repent in hell this fooliſh fruitleſſe faſhion of their impenitent repentance.

   • 1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], 2nd edition, London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, book V, page 370:

     The caſe of impœnitent and notorious ſinners is not like vnto theirs vvhoſe onely imperfection is error ſeuered from pertinacie, error in appearance content to ſubmit it ſelfe to better inſtruction, error ſo farre already cured as to craue at our hands that Sacrament, the hatred and vtter refuſall vvhereof vvas the vvaightieſt point vvherein heretofore they ſvvarued and vvent aſtraie.

   • 1651, Jos[eph] Hall, “Soliloq[uy] XI. False Joy.”, in Susurrium cum Deo. Soliloquies: Or, Holy Self-conferences of the Devout Soul, […], 2nd edition, London: […] Will[iam] Hunt, and are to be sold by George Lathum junior, […], →OCLC, page 37:

     But I pitty the flatteries, and ſelfe-applauſes of a careleſſe and impenitent heart: This jollity hath in it much danger, and vvithout ſome change, death.

   • 1710 March 1 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele], “Saturday, February 18, 1709–10”, in The Tatler, number 135; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume II, London: I. Walker and Co.;  […], 1822, →OCLC, page 302:

     The minds, therefore, which they set at ease, are only those of impenitent criminals and malefactors, and which, to the good of mankind, should be in perpetual terror and alarm.

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Ship”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 87:

     “Captain Peleg,” said Bildad steadily, “thy conscience may be drawing ten inches of water, or ten fathoms, I can’t tell; but as thou art still an impenitent man, Captain Peleg, I greatly fear lest thy conscience be but a leaky one; and will in the end sink thee foundering down to the fiery pit, Captain Peleg.”

Alternative forms

• impænitent (obsolete)
• impœnitent (obsolete)

Derived terms

• impenitency
• impenitently
• impenitentness
• impenitible (obsolete)

Related terms

• impenitence

Translations

not penitent

not repenting of sin

• Bulgarian: неразкаял се (nerazkajal se)
• Finnish: paatunut (fi)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀμετανόητος (ametanóētos)

Noun

impenitent (plural impenitents)

1. One who is not penitent.
   • 1532, Thomas More, “The Confutacion of [William] Tyndale’s Aunswere […]”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published April 1557, →OCLC, book IV (Whether the Church can Erre), page 525, column 1:

     For as for the firſt kynde of eleccion, after whiche, Chriſte hathe choſen bys catholike churche out of the Jewes and Gentiles, to be his church here in earth: in thys kynde are there penitentes and impenitentes bothe.

Translations

one who is not penitent

Further reading

• repentance on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “impenitent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “impenitent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• pentimenti

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French impénitent. Equivalent to in- +‎ penitent.

Adjective

impenitent m or n (feminine singular impenitentă, masculine plural impenitenți, feminine and neuter plural impenitente)

1. unrepentant

Declension

Declension of impenitent

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	impenitent		impenitentă	impenitenți	impenitente
	definite	impenitentul		impenitenta	impenitenții	impenitentele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	impenitent		impenitente	impenitenți	impenitente
	definite	impenitentului		impenitentei	impenitenților	impenitentelor