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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

penance.

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

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

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

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

    countable · uncountable
  3. Any instrument of self-punishment.

    countable · uncountable
  4. repentance

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  5. pain; sorrow; suffering

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English penaunce, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French peneance, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”). Doublet of penitence.

verb/ˈpɛn.əns/
  1. To impose penance; to punish.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English penaunce, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French peneance, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”). Doublet of penitence.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.