This week we continue our vocabulary-building series, “The Closing Word.” Each week we provide a new word to help build your vocabulary and show you an example of how to use it.
This week’s closing word:
penitence
Pronounced: (PEN-ih-tense)
Noun:
remorse for your past conduct
From Vocabulary.com: “Penitence shares the same Latin root as the verb repent, which means “to express regret.” It’s also connected to the word penitentiary, another word for prison. Sometimes penitence is so painful you might think you deserve to be in prison. The good news is that unless you committed a serious crime, you can probably apologize and that display of penitence is usually enough for forgiveness. Be careful: although the last half sounds like tense, it’s actually spelled with a c.”
Example:
“It is hard to believe in leaders who never share the slightest bit of penitence for past misdeeds.”
