penance
a punishment undergone in token of penitence for sin.
a penitential discipline imposed by church authority.
a sacrament, as in the Roman Catholic Church, consisting in a confession of sin, made with sorrow and with the intention of amendment, followed by the forgiveness of the sin.
Origin of penance
1Other words from penance
- pen·ance·less, adjective
Words that may be confused with penance
- penance , pennants
Words Nearby penance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use penance in a sentence
The Pontiff will travel to Canada on Sunday for a week-long tour of the country on what he has described as a “pilgrimage of penance.”
Indigenous Groups in Canada Want More Than Apology During Pope’s Visit | Olivia B. Waxman | July 22, 2022 | TimeAll eyes are now on McCarthy to see how far he’ll chase penance.
How New Revelations Complicate Kevin McCarthy’s Bid for House Speaker | Philip Elliott | April 22, 2022 | TImeIn our yearly pilgrimage from the seeming penance of winter to the obvious glories of spring, some days seem as much about the journey as the destination, and Saturday seemed to be one of those voyaging days.
Spring may be coming; Saturday showed it’s not yet here | Martin Weil | February 27, 2022 | Washington PostTo the world, I was fat and unfit and had to go to the gym as penance.
Those who have somehow broken the laws of this country remain in some of them and this is their abode of penance.
It is will always be my penance now always to believe that I didn't do enough for my friend.
penance is available at the Newsstand, Miami and at alldayeveryday.com for $45—$500.
“The pain is her penance,” says one of them, amid the screams of labor.
Give Dame Judi Dench the Damn Oscar for ‘Philomena’ | Nico Hines | October 18, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTPay your penance while demonstrating a commitment to public service.
Eliot Spitzer’s Comeback Plan: A Run for New York City Comptroller | John Avlon | July 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe company will be forced to endure penance not only for the spill, but paradoxically for the sunflower.
I attended, and hearkened; no man speaketh what is good, there is none that doth penance for his sin, saying: What have I done?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousIt seemed to him as if no punishment or penance could atone for such deception and for so great a crime.
Skipper Worse | Alexander Lange KiellandMany a fish is mad after the bait; but when he is hooked, he finds his penance, even though the line should break.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerThe Church adjudged Simone heretic, and condemned her for salutary penance to the bread of suffering and the water of affliction.
The Merrie Tales Of Jacques Tournebroche | Anatole FranceAnd you look as if you were doing penance, or something—you've got such a superior expression!
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch | Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
British Dictionary definitions for penance
/ (ˈpɛnəns) /
voluntary self-punishment to atone for a sin, crime, etc
a feeling of regret for one's wrongdoings
Christianity
a punishment usually consisting of prayer, fasting, etc, undertaken voluntarily as an expression of penitence for sin
a punishment of this kind imposed by church authority as a condition of absolution
(tr) (of ecclesiastical authorities) to impose a penance upon (a sinner)
Origin of penance
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for penance
Acts done to make up for sin. (See confession and indulgence.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse