penance
gb/pˈɛnəns/ us/pˈɛnəns/
B2
Inglese
~ 8400
Accezioni
0 accezioni
Sostantivo
B2
entity
1
self-punishing act for wrongdoing
A hard or unpleasant thing that someone chooses to do to show they are sorry for doing something wrong.
Schema d'uso:
to do penance for [something]
Errore comune:
Learners sometimes say *"make a penance"* or *"pay a penance"*. The usual phrase in modern English is *"do penance"* or *"perform penance"*. Learners may also confuse *penance* with *penalty*; *penalty* is a punishment given by a rule or law, while *penance* is usually something you accept or choose to show you are sorry.
Sinonimi
atonement (More formal and abstract; often refers to the overall process of making up for wrongs, not just a specific act.)
|
self-punishment (Focuses directly on punishing oneself, without the religious or moral nuance that penance can carry.)
Contrari
reward (A pleasant thing given or received for some reason, opposite in nature to a hard or painful act of penance.)
Collocazioni
do penance
|penance for [one’s] sins
|impose penance
|accept penance
|as penance for [something]
Temi
religion
|emotions
|ethics
|core_vocabulary
Esempi
- He volunteered at the shelter every weekend as penance for his past mistakes.
- She gave up alcohol for a year as a form of penance after the accident.
- The politician’s public apology was seen as insufficient penance for his actions.
- They walked the pilgrimage route barefoot in penance for their sins.
- He felt he had to live a simple life as penance for the harm his company had caused.
Esempi per chi studia
- He cleaned the whole house as penance for being rude to his mother.
- She stopped watching TV for a month as penance for failing her exam.
- The player did charity work as penance for his bad behavior on the field.
- He saw his extra work on the weekend as penance for coming in late.
- They went to the temple to offer flowers as penance for their lie.
Sostantivo
C1
entity
2
Christian sacrament of confession
In some Christian churches, a religious act where a person tells a priest their sins, is forgiven, and is told to do a special act to show they are sorry.
Schema d'uso:
the Sacrament of Penance
Errore comune:
Learners may not realize that in Catholic English, *Penance* (often with a capital letter) can be the formal name of a sacrament, not just a general word for self-punishment. They may also confuse *Penance* with simply *prayer*; while prayer is part of it, the sacrament includes confession, absolution, and a specific act of penance.
Sinonimi
confession (Common everyday term used by many Catholics for the same sacrament; slightly less formal and doctrinal than saying Penance.)
Contrari
excommunication (Being formally removed from participation in the Church, which contrasts with Penance, a sacrament meant to restore a person’s relationship with God and the Church.)
Collocazioni
the Sacrament of Penance
|confession and penance
|receive penance
|go to Penance
|administer Penance
Temi
religion
Esempi
- In the Catholic Church, Penance is one of the seven sacraments.
- After many years away, he finally returned to receive the Sacrament of Penance.
- The priest explained how Penance helps believers repair their relationship with God.
- She goes to Penance regularly during Lent.
- The bishop encouraged the faithful to approach Penance with sincere hearts.
Esempi per chi studia
- He went to Penance to tell the priest about his sins.
- Penance is an important sacrament for many Catholics.
- After Penance, she felt clean and peaceful.
- The priest gave him Penance and a blessing.
- Some people go to Penance before major holidays.
Sostantivo
B2
entity
3
unpleasant duty as consequence
A bad or boring thing you must do because of something you did before, often said in a light or joking way.
Schema d'uso:
[something] is penance for [something]
Errore comune:
Learners sometimes think *penance* is only serious and religious. In modern speech, it is often used humorously for any unpleasant duty after a mistake, even a small one. They may also confuse it with *penalty*; *penalty* is more formal and legal or in sports, while *penance* often suggests a personal or emotional sense of paying for something.
Sinonimi
price (As in *"the price you pay"*; focuses more on cost or consequence, without the explicit idea of regret or self-punishment that penance suggests.)
Contrari
perk (A pleasant extra advantage that comes from a situation, the opposite of an unpleasant duty or consequence.)
Collocazioni
my penance for [something]
|serve my penance
|endless penance
|penance for staying out late
|penance for my mistakes
Temi
daily_life
|emotions
|core_vocabulary
Esempi
- Spending the weekend with his in‑laws was his penance for forgetting their anniversary.
- Mark joked that answering all those emails was penance for taking a long vacation.
- Writing the long report felt like penance for missing last week’s meeting.
- She saw the early morning flights as penance for choosing a cheaper airline.
- Sitting through the three‑hour lecture was my penance for signing up late.
Esempi per chi studia
- He said the extra work was his penance for coming late every day.
- Doing the dishes all week was her penance for breaking the plate.
- The long meeting was our penance for not planning well.
- He called the boring class his penance for choosing that subject.
- She said the noisy room was her penance for paying less money.
Verbo
archaic
C2
action
4
impose penance on someone
To give someone a special hard task to do as a punishment for doing wrong, usually in a religious setting. (Very old use.)
Schema d'uso:
to penance [someone] for [something]
Errore comune:
Modern English speakers almost never use *penance* as a verb. Learners should avoid *"to penance someone"* in normal speech and use *"to punish"* instead.
Sinonimi
punish (General and common verb for causing someone to suffer for wrongdoing; *penance* as a verb is more specific and religious, and is now rare.)
Contrari
forgive (Means to stop being angry and not punish someone, which contrasts with imposing penance on them.)
Collocazioni
heavily penanced
|penanced by the Church
|penanced for his sins
Temi
religion
|law
Esempi
- He was penanced by his order for breaking his vows.
- The monks penanced the offender with a week of fasting and silence.
- In the old tales, the knight was penanced for his pride with years of wandering.
Esempi per chi studia
- The old book says the man was penanced for his crime.
- In the story, the king penanced the soldier with hard work.
- The priest penanced him with many days of prayer.
- She was penanced in the legend for telling lies.
- The monk penanced the thief in the ancient story.
Grammatica
Forma base
penance
IPA
GB/pˈɛnəns/
US/pˈɛnəns/
Sillabe e accento
pen - ance (2 sillabe)
Stress on 1st syllable (pen)
Forme flesse
Noun
- Base: penance
- Plural: penance
Famiglia di parole
Core family
penitence
noun
penitent
adjective C1
Negative and opposite forms
impenitent
adjective
Advanced or less common
penitential
adjective
penitentiary
noun
Espressioni
as penance
1/ˈæz pˈɛnəns/
fixed phrase
as a self-punishing act
Used to say that a hard or unpleasant thing is being done to show that someone is sorry.
Esempi
- She ran a marathon as penance for years of unhealthy living.
- He agreed to work night shifts as penance for his earlier mistakes.
- They spent their holiday cleaning the beach as penance for their careless behavior.
do penance
1/dˈu pˈɛnəns/
fixed phrase
perform an act of penance
To do something hard or unpleasant to show that you are sorry for what you did.
Esempi
- After lying to his parents, he decided to do penance by helping around the house for a month.
- The singer did penance in the public eye by donating all the profits from her tour to charity.
- He spent years doing penance for the damage his company had caused.