remorsen.
/rᵻˈmɔːs/, U.S. /rəˈmɔrs/, /riˈmɔrs/ 1. remorse of conscience (also mind) = sense 2a. Also in singular and plural = sense 2b. Now chiefly archaic and regional.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] > remorse
pityc1330
agenbite1340
griefa1375
out-thinkinga1382
remorse of conscience (also mind)c1410
remorsea1425
regreta1540
wringing1623
remord1625
resentment1646
heart-searching1647
remordency1658
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [noun]
reusingeOE
rueeOE
ruenessOE
bireusingc1000
penitencea1200
rutha1200
after-charc1220
again-charc1220
ruesomenessa1225
ofthinkingc1225
forthinkinga1250
repentancec1300
penancea1325
pityc1330
compunctiona1340
agenbite1340
repentingc1350
athinking1382
contritionc1386
repentaillec1390
rueinga1400
remorse of conscience (also mind)c1410
conscience?a1425
remorsea1425
penitencya1500
penitudea1538
resipiscency?c1550
penancy?1567
resipiscence1570
repent1573
brokennessa1617
remorsefulnessa1617
synteresy1616
synderesis1639
heart-searching1647
synteresis1650
remordency1658
contriteness1692
resentment1705
penitentness1727
society > faith > worship > sacrament > confession > penitence > [noun]
reusingeOE
deedbotec1000
sin-bootc1175
penitencea1200
repentancec1300
penancea1325
compunctiona1340
repentingc1350
contritionc1386
repentaillec1390
remorse of conscience (also mind)c1410
penitencya1500
penitudea1538
penancy?1567
repent1573
metanoia1577
remorsefulnessa1617
synteresy1616
synderesis1639
synteresis1650
remordency1658
sermon-sicknessa1665
contriteness1692
penitentness1727
c1410 tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 171 Pope Leo þe nynþe, havynge remorse of conscience [L. cum conscientiam haberet cauteriatam] þat he was somwhat put yn by þe emperoure, lefte the popehede.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 554 Hastow remors of conscience..And waylest for þi synne and þyn offence, And hast for ferd caught attricioun.
a1450 tr. Aelred of Rievaulx De Institutione Inclusarum (Bodl.) (1984) 12 (MED) A mayde shuld so be occupied vpon..prayer..that..she shuld not be suffred for remors of conscience.
1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton D j He is euer in doubt and in remors of conscience.
1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Induct. xxxii And first within the portche and iawes of Hell Sate diepe Remorse of conscience.
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. i. sig. Ciiij Al which I prefer vnto you in this place..by a peculyar instigacion and remorce of mynde restoring a newe remembrance of the noble condicion of our Auncestors.
1585 J. Norden Sinfull Mans Solace f. 107 I haue most lewdly, lead my life, without remorce of minde.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 104 Onely for the remorse of his conscience, preferring the seruice of God before all other respects.
1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer vi. f. 191 They dare practise, and defend it too, Without remorse of mind.
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. i. 110 Perhaps not without some scruples and remorses of Conscience.
1704 London Gaz. No. 4029/2 One of these Lieutenants having a Remorse of Conscience, discovered the..Mater.
1729 W. Law Serious Call xxiii. 467 A man may..go on..without any remorse of mind, or true desire of amendment.
1808 J. Lempriere Univ. Biogr. at Aunoy One of his three accusers afterwards through remorse of conscience confessed the charge to be false.
a1845 J. McPherson Poems, Descriptive & Moral (1862) 205 They take the luring draught, designed To drown all high desire, And madly quench remorse of mind With floods of liquid fire.
1893 Classical Rev. 7 114/2 It seems very doubtful whether even after the deed Orestes is supposed to feel what is properly called remorse of conscience.
1906 S. Weiss Decimon Hûŷdas ix. 109 Shall I now, after years of torture of heart and remorse of mind, weakly yield the prize for which I have risked all that I have?
1955 Times 18 Nov. 6/7 The East Kilbride workers voted..to continue the strike... The shop steward convener..said..they had experienced ‘a remorse of conscience’ over their previous ‘blackleg’ decision.
1993 Irish Times (Nexis) 29 Oct. 6 The new legislation should..provide..immunity against prosecution for witnesses who, prompted by remorse of conscience, testify that their wrongdoing has resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
2.
a. Deep regret or guilt for doing something morally wrong; the fact or state of feeling sorrow for committing a sin; repentance, compunction. Also with at (also for, †of, over, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] > remorse
pityc1330
agenbite1340
griefa1375
out-thinkinga1382
remorse of conscience (also mind)c1410
remorsea1425
regreta1540
wringing1623
remord1625
resentment1646
heart-searching1647
remordency1658
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [noun]
reusingeOE
rueeOE
ruenessOE
bireusingc1000
penitencea1200
rutha1200
after-charc1220
again-charc1220
ruesomenessa1225
ofthinkingc1225
forthinkinga1250
repentancec1300
penancea1325
pityc1330
compunctiona1340
agenbite1340
repentingc1350
athinking1382
contritionc1386
repentaillec1390
rueinga1400
remorse of conscience (also mind)c1410
conscience?a1425
remorsea1425
penitencya1500
penitudea1538
resipiscency?c1550
penancy?1567
resipiscence1570
repent1573
brokennessa1617
remorsefulnessa1617
synteresy1616
synderesis1639
heart-searching1647
synteresis1650
remordency1658
contriteness1692
resentment1705
penitentness1727
a1425 (a1396) R. Maidstone Paraphr. Seven Penitential Psalms (BL Add. 39574) 175 in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 26 Thy coruptible coors Is noght but wormes mete... Therfore in myrth haue thow remoors.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 4537 My smert yerde I vse Alle synnes to refuse, And do with-al correccioun, Only off entencioun, That the remors of noon offence Abyde in ther conscience.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ccxxix. f. cli By this monycion he toke remorce in his conscyence.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. MMMv Vndouted their conscience shulde haue remorse.
1577 T. Vautrollier tr. M. Luther Comm. Epist. to Galathians (new ed.) f. 19 The hypocrites..although they feele the remorse of sinne, [etc.].
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxxii. 213 The fruit of our own ill doing is remorse.
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. i. 92 The remorse for his undutifulneesse [sic] towards his Father, was living in him till he dyed.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 162 Another teaches that..there is no hell but remorse.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 104 When again I was shipwreck'd,..I was as far from Remorse, or looking on it as a Judgment.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 43 Pleasure brings as surely in her train Remorse and Sorrow and vindictive Pain.
1825 R. M'Chronicle Burton I. vi. 77 I..might have thought that my conscience, brooding in remorse over the death of Stanhope, presented his image wherever I turned.
1862 Times 23 Sept. 7/6 She betrayed no remorse for her crime, which she called ‘getting into trouble’.
1911 G. B. Shaw Let. 27 June (1956) 174 I feel some remorse at having stolen so much of her command night.
1965 J. A. Michener Source 700 He was thrown into a world of self-recrimination and remorse.
2008 News of World (Nexis) 19 Oct. An evil, cold-hearted man who has shown absolutely no remorse for killing his wife.
b. In singular and plural. An attack of deep regret or guilt; a remorseful feeling.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] > remorse > fit of
remorse1538
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [noun] > sudden access of
remorse1538
qualm1589
reluctance1650
society > faith > worship > sacrament > confession > penitence > [noun] > instance of
remorse1538
1538 tr. Erasmus Prepar. to Deathe sig. Eiiiv There be agayn wyttes of base courage,..to whome if thou reherse all maner comfortes, yet they fele a remorse & a gnawynge in their mynde, drawyng them to mystruste.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1698 A sorow full sodenly sanke in his hert, A Remorec [read Remorce] of maters, þat hym mys lyket.
1574 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Job (new ed.) 64/2 When wee haue thus acknowledged our sinnes, the same worketh a remorse in vs.
a1599 R. Rollock Lect. Hist. Passion (1616) iv. 40 Doth Peter waken at the crowing of the cocke? beganne hee to get a remorse by it?
1652 J. Wright tr. J.-P. Camus Nature's Paradox i. 17 To possess unjustly another's means with continuall Remorses and internall Reproaches.
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 123 Our repentances are generally not a remorse for the ills we have done.
1720 B. Mandeville Free Thoughts 126 So at one time or other they are troubled with Remorses.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. II. xl. 399 His remorses gradually diminished.
1845 N. Brit. Rev. May 139 Towards the end of his life he was tormented by remorses and by fear of divine punishment.
1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. I. iii. 166 We have her own confession at full length Made in the first remorse.
1883 R. Broughton Belinda III. iv. vi. 275 No dread comes up to the reality, to the miserable endless hours of hand-to-hand fighting with the terrible battalions of thought and remorses, that come up, ever fresh,..against her.
1948 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 61 566 Wilful babies plan reprisals and suffer remorses.
1999 B. D. Miller in K. J. Harty King Arthur on Film viii. 156 For meaningful redemption to occur, Jack must experience a remorse leading to fundamental learning and change.
a. Consideration, regard. With to, unto. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > [noun] > attention to, consideration
regard1348
considerationc1386
circumspection1387
insight1390
mentionc1390
mindingc1449
religiousnessa1475
supervising?a1475
regarding1496
sussy1513
remorse1514
respectc1530
carec1540
re-look1855
1514 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. App. iv. 8 That it may please his Highness to have Consideration & Remors to this before rehearsed, in considering, [etc.].
1525 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) VI. 416 The Kinges Highnes hauing most tendre remorce and respect unto the premisses, [etc.].
b. Regard for or understanding of whether something is right or wrong; moral sense. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
a1529 J. Skelton Poems against Garnesche in Poet Wks. (1843) I. 118 As wytles as a wylde goos, ye haue but small remorrs Me for to chalenge.
c. A solemn obligation. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > a duty or moral necessity
needOE
deedc1400
necessitya1500
office1534
work (also duty) of necessitya1602
incumbency?1608
remorsea1616
incumbence1684
call1704
commitment1837
calling1857
geis1965
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 471 Let him command, And to obey, shall be remorce, What bloody worke so euer.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun]
rueeOE
ruenessOE
forthinkinga1250
rueinga1400
regratec1485
remorse?1528
regretting1531
regret1534
resentment1632
reluctance1650
reluctancy1654
resentinga1716
lamentation1850
ruesomeness1881
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retrospection, reminiscence > [noun] > returning to a topic > with regret
remorse?1528
?1528 J. Skelton Dyuers Balettys & Dyties xv Remorse haue I of youre most goodlyhod.
1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 261 Sundry of the Noble men, partely vpon remorse of their former promise made,..made defection to Maude.
1602 tr. B. Guarini Pastor Fido sig. L3v Then could I quiet my afflicted sprights, And with a iust remorse of well-deserued death, My senses mortifie.
1695 W. Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. (1699) 578 Either the Fame of his Forces..or Remorse of his Duty, prevail'd with Duke Robert to offer again his Submissions.
1715 J. Browne & W. Oldisworth State Tracts II. 244 A young, an airy Spark,..now, without Remorse of Gout or Stone, From Sixty odd, sets up for Twenty-one.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > compassion > [noun]
rutha1200
ruenessa1225
ruefulnessc1225
birewnessa1250
pityc1300
ruea1325
compassionc1340
midtholing1340
miserationa1382
rueinga1382
bowel1382
mildc1390
tendresse1390
ruefulhead?a1400
ruthnessa1400
tendernessa1400
compunction1430
bowels of compassion1526
remorse1538
commiseration1582
kindheartedness1583
commorse1595
earning1603
tender-heartedness1607
compassionateness1614
visceraa1651
ruthfulness1674
karuna1850
1538 Prymer in Eng. after Vse of Sarum sig. kiij O God mercyfull, pytifull, & fauourable whiche hauynge remorse on the affliction of thy seruauntes, saydest vnto the aungell, [etc.].
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Civv Thys latter grace, Syster I craue, haue thou remors of me.
1568 Newe Comedie Iacob & Esau v. iv. sig. F.iv Well, nature pricketh me some remorse on thee to haue.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. iv. sig. P6 The noble Guyon mou'd with great remorse, Approching, first the Hag did thrust away.
1639 G. Daniel Ecclus. xii. 54 His Eyes shall be Stor'd wth false tears, in remorse of thee.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 566 How shall I relate..without remorse The ruin of so many glorious once? View more context for this quotation
1692 J. Dryden Cleomenes v. ii. 61 Womanish Sighs and Tears, and kind Adieu's! And those ill-tim'd Remorses of good Nature.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite ii. 345 Curse on th' unpard'ning Prince, whom Tears can draw To no Remorse: who rules by Lions Law.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [noun] > a matter for regret
scathec1300
sinc1300
pityc1325
damagec1385
spitec1400
pity?c1450
remorse1548
tragedy1873
1548 E. Gest Treat. againste Masse sig. Avi Is it not a deadely remorse to respect the worthy Clerkes in thys realme..and yet not one to wryte agaynste hyr?
1576 Humphrey in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1709) I. xliii. 431 That it was a remorse to seem, by sundry apparel, to sunder himself from those brethren.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > [noun] > cutting or piercing force
remorse1596
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. ii. sig. B5 Their speares with pitilesse remorse, Through shield and mayle, and haberieon did wend. View more context for this quotation
Phrases
P1. without remorse: without mitigation, respite, or hesitation; wholeheartedly, unreservedly (cf. remorselessly adv. 2).In quot. a1616 with of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > continuing > continually (in action) [phrase]
night and dayeOE
day and nightOE
without(en) blina1300
morning, noon, and nightc1325
but stintc1330
by and byc1330
early and latec1330
without ceasec1330
without ceasinga1340
withouten hoc1374
without releasec1400
still opece1422
in a ranec1480
never ceasable?1518
without remorse1555
every foot (and anon)1561
round1652
year in and year out1819
twenty-four hours a day1914
1555 R. Eden tr. V. Biringucci Pyrotechnia in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 333 He therfore that hath begune to digge a caue, let hym determine to folowe it, puttinge away thestimation of the basenes therof, and not to feare the streyghtnesse of the way, but rather to applye all his possible diligence withowt remorse [It. senza remorso].
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iii. 87 That ye squeak out your Coziers Catches without any mitigation or remorse of voice. View more context for this quotation
1675 Mock Songs & Joking Poems 68 It burnt her Hood without remorse And had not then a Fen been near With water to quench it, I fear Her lovely Hair to wrack had gone.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 154 Kind souls! to teach their tenantry to prize What they themselves without remorse despise.
1885 Cent. Mag. July 397/1 Notwithstanding all the wholesale ways of fishing which were practiced without remorse,..one catches now and then a glimpse of a quiet angler of the true Izaak Walton breed.
1998 M. S. Lief et al. Ladies & Gentlemen of Jury x. 399 When the law is disobeyed, it must be exposed and it must be condemned without remorse, without hesitation.
P2.
remorse of conscience n. see sense 1.
P3. † remorse of equity n. Obsolete disposition to relax the strict application of a law.Used only by or with reference to Richard Hooker.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of strictness > [noun] > lessening of strictness or severity
remiss1589
relaxation1593
relax1597
remorse of equity1597
relentment1628
thaw1950
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lx. 134 Remorse of equitie hath moued diuers of the schoole diuines..ingenuouslie to graunt..that God almercifull, [etc.].
1878 C. Patmore Amelia 102 Those gentle and unsanction'd lines To which remorse of equity Of old hath moved the School divines.
1890 Catholic World July 461 Is it not really the ‘remorse of equity’, or the worry of fate, which brings it about that a Catholic is forced to remind a Calvinist that God's supernatural grace is a free gift given or refused without the imputation of partiality or injustice?
Compounds
General attributive (in sense 2), as remorse-filled, remorse-smitten, remorse-stirred, remorse-stricken, remorse-stung, etc., adjs.
ΚΠ
1777 E. Ryves Poems 60 'Tis not th' accumulated store Of sparkling gems..Can a remorse-stung mind appease.
1815 Monthly Rev. Mar. 228 The remorse-stricken sinner reaches an antient monastery.
1826 W. Scott Woodstock II. ii. 24 (motto) Be it the working Of the remorse-stirr'd fancy.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 514 Over the side the doctor went, to the horror of the remorse-smitten sea-captain.
1973 M. Amis Rachel Papers 56 I couldn't resist taking a certain fascinated pleasure in his remorse-stricken face.
1991 N. Baker U & I vii. 138 Humbert's unthinkable perversion was more complicated and remorse-filled than..[he] had made it out to be.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
remorsev.
/rᵻˈmɔːs/, U.S. /rəˈmɔrs/, /riˈmɔrs/ 1. transitive. Of a thought, etc.: to afflict or fill (a person) with remorse; = remord v. 1a. Now rare (U.S. colloquial).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (transitive)] > feel remorse for an action > affect with remorse
rueeOE
remordc1400
remorse1483
society > faith > worship > sacrament > confession > penitence > make penitent [verb (transitive)]
remorda1425
remorse1483
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > repent (sin, wrongdoing, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > affect with remorse
rueOE
remorse1483
remord1567
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 196 b/2 Her conscience remorsed hir and [she] fyl doun to hir feet in requyryng pardon.
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 1703/1 Blaxton..fel in such a quake & shaking (the conscience belyke remorsing him).
1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 30v Nowe (dissemblingly remorsed) they would needs..sette vp another [high priest].
2002 G. W. Barclay St. Nicholas Univ. lxiii. 368 You don't seem remorsed by her loss. You say you were lovers?
2. intransitive. To feel remorse or sorrow; to express remorse or regret. In later use chiefly Scottish and U.S. colloquial. Also transitive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > regret > [verb (intransitive)] > feel remorse
ofthinkOE
reusieOE
overthinkc1175
(it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300
forthinkc1380
ruea1400
remordc1450
to rue the day (also hour)c1461
repoin1523
remorse1530
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > be repentant or contrite [verb (intransitive)]
rueOE
i-rewOE
ofthinkOE
again-chareOE
reusieOE
overthinkc1175
beetc1200
it athinks me1250
to do (also make, etc.) (one's) penancea1300
(it) forthinks (me, him, etc.)a1300
repentc1300
forthinkc1380
remordc1450
repoin1523
remorse1530
to take the rue1789
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 685/2 I have remorced more in my conscyence than all men knewe of.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. Aa.i Your hart must nedes remorce of right To graunt me grace.
1827 D. Stewart Let. Jan. in G. MacIntyre D. Stewart (2003) 224 You..know not what it is to remorse. Alas, I often do, and the misery of lying awake remorsing for hours, is so terrible.
1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxx Speakin' about you, and remorsin sair that they sud never see ye owre by.
1936 D. Bruce Cried on Sunday 6 Ye're aye remorsin' about cheenges.
2001 J. Paddock Keeper of Wild Introd. p. xv I think of Ober remorsing in his journals that he did not write enough.
2001 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 8 Feb. jg1 ‘Have it [sc. a dating course] around Valentine's Day,’..[she] said, ‘On the day after, people will be remorsing, so it will be better.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1410
v.1483