penance
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Islamic fasting is oriented toward submission to divine will, while Christian penance is animated by gratitude for the incarnate God who suffered, died and rose again for the salvation of humanity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
Williams’ Anna absorbs his fury as though it were the penance she herself would mete out for her sins.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
They straddle the line between indulgence and wellness, pleasure and penance.
From Salon • May 19, 2025
Well, they only do in one respect, and that seems to be Röhl’s main fixation: They’re all associated with attempts to work through and do penance for Nazi Germany’s crimes.
From Slate • Jan. 5, 2025
Sometimes I play with the fantasy that I am a princess who, in penance for some tiny transgression, has undertaken to feed each of her subjects by hand.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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Vocabulary lists containing penance
Fahrenheit 451
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The Poet X
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The Joy Luck Club
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