(n.) The act of turning around an improper behavior; sorrow for what one has done; especially, contrition for sin.
Thesaurus Entries
Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, abject apology, apology, asceticism, attrition, change of heart, cold purgatorial fires, compunction, contriteness, contrition, deathbed repentance, fasting, flagellation, hair shirt, heartfelt apology, lustration, maceration, mea culpa, mortification, penance, penitence, penitential act, penitential exercise, penitently, purgation, purgatory, reformation, remorse, rue, ruth, sackcloth and ashes, saeta, wearing a hairshirt
