Standard Lemma guide

impenitent

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪmˈpɛnɪt(ə)nt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ɪmˈpɛnət(ə)nt/
  • General-American: [-ɾ(ə)nt]

1

adj

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: obdurate

Antonyms: penitent

2

noun

Meaning 2

One who is not penitent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

not penitent or remorseful

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unrepentant, unremorseful

Antonyms: penitent

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

impervious to moral persuasion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

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”)). By surface analysis, im- + penitent. The noun is derived from the adjective.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: неразкаял се (nerazkajal se) — not repenting of sin
  • Finnish: paatunut — not repenting of sin
  • Ancient Greek: ἀμετανόητος (ametanóētos) — not repenting of sin