How to Use penance in a Sentence

penance

noun
Definition of penancenext
  • That car had all the great traits and none of the bad ones for which a 911 might pay penance.
    — Robert Ross, Robb Report, 27 Aug. 2022
  • At first blush, penance seems a bit out of place in a world of protest.
    — Lloyd Daniel Barba, Fortune, 31 Mar. 2023
  • The games were the penance paid for a couple nights in San Francisco.
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 18 Oct. 2021
  • How these adult screw-ups pay penance is a great ethics question.
    — Logan Jenkins, sandiegouniontribune.com, 13 July 2017
  • Smell the coffee, say 100 Hail Marys and Our Fathers for penance and then go away and get a life.
    — Rubén Rosario, Twin Cities, 28 June 2019
  • And in what looks like penance, Norway has, since the 1990s, worked to use this windfall for the common good.
    — Brett Berk, WIRED, 6 July 2019
  • Some of her modes of penance will surely invade your dreams.
    — Lindsey Bahr, Star Tribune, 2 Feb. 2021
  • Kaepernick has done his penance--and gotten paid for it.
    — Roy S. Johnson | Rjohnson@al.com, al, 28 Apr. 2022
  • In that sense, cooking for my sister-in-law felt more like penance than a good deed.
    — Kaila Yu, Glamour, 26 May 2021
  • But after a year of penance, aka coaching in the Greek league, Iona came calling.
    — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2021
  • For the Christians who choose to observe it, Lent is a time of penance and abstinence.
    — refinery29.com, 27 Mar. 2018
  • Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a 40-day period of penance for Christians around the world.
    — Nina Strochlic, National Geographic, 26 Feb. 2020
  • The ashes symbolize penance and the dust from which God made people.
    — Francisco Guzman and Pete Burn, CNN, 26 Feb. 2020
  • Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary loved the old-school penance.
    — Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 8 June 2018
  • The Vatican in 2011 sentenced Karadima to a lifetime of penance and prayer for his crimes.
    — Washington Post, 22 May 2018
  • Wasn't there some penance to be done in representing the little guy?
    — Dan Snierson, EW.com, 19 July 2022
  • Joseph W. recalled grabbing a rosary and doing penance in the pews of a largely empty church.
    — Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, USA TODAY, 28 Aug. 2017
  • For Lee, his journey through the virtual meat mixer can be read as an act of penance.
    — Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2022
  • And even when three goons set upon him with razor blades, Ajay stays quiet and accepts the cuts as penance.
    — Ron Charles, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2022
  • The comics already had lost their fight, and their penance quite possibly could be having to make four more years of Trump jokes.
    — Steve Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 4 Nov. 2020
  • In all of the months leading up to the Wallen incident and after, there has been no corporate penance.
    — Andrea Williams, Vulture, 28 June 2021
  • Perhaps each one of us could make a list and share it among friends as a challenge and a penance and a celebration, too.
    — Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review, 28 June 2021
  • Plus, Bacon adds, this phrase positions going to the gym as penance.
    — Melissa A. Fabello, SELF, 23 Dec. 2017
  • During the season of Lent, Catholics are to abstain from eating meat on Fridays as an act of penance.
    — Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Penance is a good idea, but granted Benedict’s age and health, any serious penance is out of the question.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Feb. 2022
  • The ashes are also a symbol of penance and are made from palm leaves that were used in last year's Palm Sunday services.
    — Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 17 Feb. 2021
  • The most extreme devotees made their way there in the form of penance—by walking, cycling, and chanting for thousands of miles.
    — TIME, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Here's everything to know about the annual day of fasting and penance.
    — Jennie Key, The Enquirer, 3 Apr. 2023
  • Svenson took up the Black Hood mantle as a way to do penance for taking an innocent man's life.
    — refinery29.com, 26 Mar. 2018
  • Right Now Following the flap, Demna offered penance for his misdeeds.
    — Nathan Taylor Pemberton, Rolling Stone, 20 Jan. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'penance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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