Repented vs Relented - What's the difference?
repented | relented |
(repent)
(label) To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of".
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*:And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
To be sorry for sin as morally evil, and to seek forgiveness; to cease to practice sin and to love.
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*:I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent , ye shall all likewise perish.
(label) To feel pain on account of; to remember with sorrow.
(label) To be sorry for, to regret.
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To cause to have sorrow or regret.
*, Bk.VII:
*:at that time she wolde nat, she seyde, for she was syke and myght nat ryde. "That me repentith ," seyde the kynge.
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*:And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
To cause (oneself) to feel pain or regret.
(chiefly, botany) Creeping along the ground.
(relent)
To become less severe or intense; to become less hard, harsh, or cruel; to soften in temper; to become more mild and tender; to feel compassion.
* Shakespeare
To slacken; to abate.
(obsolete) To lessen, make less severe or fast.
* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.iv:
(dated) To become less rigid or hard; to soften; to yield; to dissolve; to melt; to deliquesce.
* Boyle
* Alexander Pope
As verbs the difference between repented and relented
is that repented is (repent) while relented is (relent).repented
English
Verb
(head)Anagrams
*repent
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) repentir, from (re-) + a late derivative of (etyl) , alteration of (etyl) paenitere.Verb
(en verb)Synonyms
* (l) * (l)Derived terms
*Etymology 2
From (etyl) .Adjective
Synonyms
* reptantReferences
* * ----relented
English
Verb
(head)relent
English
Derived terms
* relentlessVerb
(en verb)- He relented of his plan to murder his opponent, and decided just to teach him a lesson instead.
- I did, I suppose, hope that she might finally relent a little and make some conciliatory response or other. (from "The Remains of the Day"? by Kazuo Ishiguro)
- Can you behold / My sighs and tears, and will not once relent ?
- We waited for the storm to relent before we ventured outside.
- He will not relent in his effort to reclaim his victory.
- But nothing might relent her hastie flight; / So deepe the deadly feare of that foule swaine / Was earst impressed in her gentle spright [...].
- [Salt of tartar] placed in a cellar will begin to relent .
- When opening buds salute the welcome day, / And earth, relenting , feels the genial ray.