penance

Study(11)

/ˈpɛn.əns/

noun 5verb 1

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

public

VERB + PENANCE

do, perform

PREP

as a ~

She volunteered at the animal shelter as a penance for ignoring her dog for months.

in ~

He apologized to his friend in penance for breaking her favorite vase last week.

~ for

She felt she needed to do penance for missing her friend's birthday party.

PHRASES

an act of penance

Definitions

noun

A voluntary self-imposed punishment for a sinful act or wrongdoing. It may be intended to serve as reparation for the act.

Quoth he, "The man hath penance done, / And penance more will do."

A sacrament in some Christian churches that involves penitence (remorse plus restitution via prayer).

Any instrument of self-punishment.

repentance

pain; sorrow; suffering

verb

To impose penance; to punish.

She seem'd, at once, some penanced lady elf, / Some demon mistress, or the demon's self.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for some wrongdo

self-mortification
self-abasement

noun — remorse for your past conduct

repentance
penitence

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

Quoth he, "The man hath penance done, / And penance more will do."

Wiktionary

She seem'd, at once, some penanced lady elf, / Some demon mistress, or the demon's self.

Wiktionary

He is doing penance.

Tatoeba · #296842

Penance is one of the seven sacraments.

Tatoeba · #733773

If he does that again, let the punishment be harsher, and in addition, let penance be imposed on him, but if he does that thrice, let him be executed.

Tatoeba · #2893191

If rain fails there will be neither charity nor penance.

Tatoeba · #4271103

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, penance is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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