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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.

There are the shamefaced former members, who confess their gullibility as a kind of penance; there are the cockamamie claims on which the belief system is based.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

A breakfast that feels more like penance than possibility.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

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

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

It was shaped like an Aturan penance piece, but it gleamed silver in the moonlight.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss




Vocabulary lists containing penance


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