Contriteness (9)
I believe the answer is:
penitence
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">contriteness</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for penitence that I've seen before include "Contriteness" , "Contrition, remorse" , "A show of regret for wrongdoing" , "display of remorse" , "shame" .)