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penance

[pen-uhns] / ˈpɛn əns /


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.

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He returns home in beggar’s clothes with a plan to pay penance to the scores of souls he unjustly sent to the underworld.

From Salon Jul. 21, 2026

The Vatican said on Thursday: "The sacred ministers of the Society of St Pius X administer the sacraments illicitly, while the sacrament of penance they administer and the marriages they witness are invalid."

From BBC Jul. 2, 2026

The reader is invited to follow her often frightening pursuit of spiritual penance.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 28, 2026

His penance is to “pass, like night, from land to land,” repeating his story: “And till my ghastly tale is told, / This heart within me burns.”

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 16, 2026

It was her penance for having taken those lilacs in from the mailbox.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen




Vocabulary lists containing penance


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