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.
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
“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
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
A cold-weather salad wants heat at its core, something warm enough to soften the greens and make the whole bowl feel like actual food rather than penance.
From Salon • Dec. 16, 2025
Preemptive penance and absolution were doctrines researched and developed by the Consistorial Court, but not known to the wider Church.
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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