Definition of penance Penance

/pɛˈnʌns/ - [penuns] - pen•ance

We found 13 definitions of penance from 6 different sources.

What does penance mean?

Noun Plural: penances
penance - a Catholic sacrament; repentance and confession and atonement and absolution
		sacrament a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction
		remission of sin, absolution, remittal, remission the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance
penance - voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for some wrongdoing
		self-mortification, self-abasement
penance - remorse for your past conduct
		repentance, penitence
		compunction, remorse, self-reproach a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed)

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

penance (Noun)
A voluntary self-imposed punishment for a sinful act or wrongdoing. It may be intended to serve as reparation for the act.
penance (Noun)
A sacrament in some Christian churches.
penance (Verb)
To impose penance; to punish.

penance (n.)
Repentance.
penance (n.)
Pain; sorrow; suffering.
penance (n.)
A means of repairing a sin committed, and obtaining pardon for it, consisting partly in the performance of expiatory rites, partly in voluntary submission to a punishment corresponding to the transgression. Penance is the fourth of seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church.
penance (v. t.)
To impose penance; to punish.

penance
pen′ans, n. repentance: external acts performed to manifest sorrow for sin, to seek to atone for the sin and to avert the punishment which, even after the guilt has been remitted, may still remain due to the offence—also the sacrament by which absolution is conveyed (involving contrition, confession, and satisfaction): any instrument of self-punishment.—v.t. to impose penance on: to punish. [O. Fr.; cf. Penitence.]

Penance is repentance of sins, as well as the name of the Catholic Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. The word "penance" comes from the Latin "poenitentia", the same root as penitence, which in English means repentance, the desire to be forgiven, see contrition; in many languages there is only one single word for it. Penance and repentance were similar in their original sense. After the controversy about the merits of "faith" and "good works" they are seen as conflicting views.

🔤

Very rare

Rare

Normal

Common

Very Common

Rare

Normal

Common

penance in sign language