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Definitions

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.

The reader is invited to follow her often frightening pursuit of spiritual penance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

A breakfast that feels more like penance than possibility.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 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

He needed to be purified, she told him, and only a terrible penance could do that.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton




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