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.
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
Part of my penance was buying $50 worth of groceries for the house.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
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
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
She said her penance using her mother-of-pearl rosary to keep count of the prayers.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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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