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.
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
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
Somewhere deep in the wiring, there was still this belief that a salad, no matter how decadent, was supposed to be a kind of 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
When the penance had reached the appropriate level for a particular sin, the penitent was granted absolution in advance, though he might never be called on to commit the sin.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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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