penitential

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of penitential The church released a statement on its website Thursday saying that, due to the desecration of the altar, Abbot Elijah Owens and the monastic community will undertake the penitential rite, reparation for the desecration and offer a Mass of Reparation. Monica Brich, Arkansas Online, 7 Jan. 2023 Throughout Lent—the penitential season prior to Easter, which for the Orthodox is this Sunday—Ukrainian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops, metropolitans, clergy, and scholars have been consumed with the issues of the war. Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2022 The choir – split into two groups to accommodate social distancing – offers four works that touch on penitential themes. oregonlive, 22 Mar. 2022 But there’s something penitential about her account, a purging of her regret and guilt about her co-workers (many of whom testify here) but also her stupidity, about business and men. John Anderson, WSJ, 15 Mar. 2022 See All Example Sentences for penitential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penitential
Adjective
  • For his part, the boy is quiet and seems penitent, making the cell a calming refuge for Dean within an institution unofficially ruled by a cutthroat mini mob boss, Freddie (Ishay Lalosh).
    Judy Berman, Time, 2 May 2025
  • Your penitent correspondent humbly submits that the whole ritual has jumped the shark in Northeast Ohio.
    Sam Allard, Axios, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Will has so much defensiveness, but Caleb has a sort of an apologetic sense about him.
    Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2025
  • The four-time major winner was suitably apologetic and empathetic to Musetti’s plight.
    Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Over these last weeks, however, I have been nudged into a repentant apology by his profound take on our political crisis and a sincere and accurate Christian analysis of the problems and deliberate practical steps the individual Christian citizen can take during this holy season.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Moore gives one of her quietest performances as repentant cowboy Kiefer’s former lover, Mary Alice.
    Eddie Mouradian, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • How did so many Germans become contrite about the Nazi past?
    Gary J. Bass, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
  • Van Buren returns shortly with a newly contrite attitude, having come around to his library’s merits and read up on Toth’s prior designs in Hungary.
    Anthony Paletta, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The men should have been there, looking remorseful, but during the first two hearings at which a total of 23 men were charged, only two came in person.
    Wendy Murphy, Boston Herald, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Gayle’s attorney, Diane Gonzalez, told McClatchy News that Gayle was remorseful and broke down on the stand when testifying.
    Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Penitential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penitential. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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