MEANING
1. An act imposed or voluntarily undertaken to express repentance for wrongdoing, often after confession.
2. In some Christian traditions, the sacrament or rite in which sins are confessed and forgiveness is sought or pronounced.
Use it for
Religious discipline, compensatory acts, burdens presented as moral duty.Make repentance visible through a particular required action.
Words that belong together
- do penance
- impose a penance
- penance for a sin
On the page
The priest assigned a short prayer as penance.
She scrubbed the chapel floor as a private penance.
His father called the confinement penance, though no wrong had been named.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- penance
Usage notes
Primary category: gothic. Also a sacrament in Christian traditions; distinguish the prescribed act from penitence, the inner remorse. Uncountable generally; plural penances for separate acts.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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