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.

As if doing penance for the past, all four of the film’s stars are associated with superhero franchises.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

“If anything he had some kind of remorse and was on his penance campaign. Part of resolving himself was helping with noble endeavors,” Tramo said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

Concluding that Didion left these pages behind so they would eventually take shape as the penance of an unreliable narrator is surely too tidy.

From Salon • Jun. 14, 2025

Mr Sloan said he later built the cathedral at Inch Abbey as "an act of penance" and made that into a Cistercian monastery.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2025

I sat next to Jaja, bent my head, and made my penance.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie