penitential

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.

Weeks later, during the penitential Yom Kippur prayers in a small Berlin synagogue, Rosenzweig reversed his decision.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

In 2022, Pope Francis made a "penitential pilgrimage" across Canada, where he offered an apology to local tribal leaders.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

It also marks the beginning of the penitential Lenten season.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2024

The prayer service, known as a penitential rite and required by Canon law, was led by the basilica's archpriest, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti.

From Reuters • Jun. 3, 2023

The penitential discipline, and the exhortations of the pulpit, diffused abroad an immeasurably higher sense of the importance of purity than Pagan antiquity had known.

From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of 2) by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole