penance
noun/ˈpenəns/
/ˈpenəns/
- [countable, usually singular, uncountable] (especially in particular religions) an act that you give yourself to do, or that a priest gives you to do, in order to show that you are sorry for something you have done wrong
- an act of penance
- penance for something to do penance for your sins
- in penance She kneeled at her mother's feet in penance.
Collocations ReligionReligionBeing religious- believe in God/Christ/Allah/free will/predestination/heaven and hell/an afterlife/reincarnation
- be/become a believer/an atheist/an agnostic/a Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist, etc.
- convert to/practise a religion/Buddhism/Catholicism/Christianity/Islam/Judaism, etc.
- go to church/(North American English) temple (= the synagogue)
- go to the local church/mosque/synagogue/gurdwara
- belong to a church/a religious community
- join/enter the church/a convent/a monastery/a religious sect/the clergy/the priesthood
- praise/worship/obey/serve/glorify God
- attend/hold/conduct/lead a service
- perform a ceremony/a rite/a ritual/a baptism/the Hajj/a mitzvah
- carry out/perform a sacred/burial/funeral/fertility/purification rite
- go on/make a pilgrimage
- celebrate Christmas/Easter/Eid/Ramadan/Hanukkah/Passover/Diwali
- observe/break the Sabbath/a fast/Ramadan
- deliver/preach/hear a sermon
- lead/address the congregation
- say/recite a prayer/blessing
- preach/proclaim/spread the word of God/the Gospel/the message of Islam
- study/follow the dharma/the teachings of Buddha
- read/study/understand/interpret scripture/the Bible/the Koran/the gospel/the Torah
- be based on/derive from divine revelation
- commit/consider something heresy/sacrilege
- seek/find/gain enlightenment/wisdom
- strengthen/lose your faith
- keep/practise/practice/abandon the faith
- save/purify/lose your soul
- obey/follow/keep/break/violate a commandment/Islamic law/Jewish law
- be/accept/do God’s will
- receive/experience divine grace
- achieve/attain enlightenment/salvation/nirvana
- undergo a conversion/rebirth/reincarnation
- hear/answer a prayer
- commit/confess/forgive a sin
- do/perform penance
Extra ExamplesTopics Religion and festivalsc2- He decided to do public penance for his sins.
- He devoted his life to helping the poor as a penance for his past crimes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- public
- do
- pay
- as a penance
- in penance
- penance for
- …
- an act of penance
- [singular] something that you have to do even though you do not like doing it
- She regards living in New York as a penance; she hates big cities.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- public
- do
- pay
- as a penance
- in penance
- penance for
- …
- an act of penance
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, from Latin paenitentia ‘repentance’, from the verb paenitere ‘be sorry’.
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penance