“Penance” or “Pennants”—Which to use?

“Penance” or “Pennants”

Overview

penance / pennants are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

penance: (noun) a Catholic sacrament; repentance and confession and atonement and absolution. (noun) voluntary self-punishment in order to atone for some wrongdoing.

pennants: (noun) the award given to the champion. (noun) a flag longer than it is wide (and often tapering). (noun) a long flag; often tapering.

Pronunciation

penance: p·EH·n·ah·n·s

pennants: p·EH·n·ah·n·t·s

Trends

📈 See Trends

Looking for a tool that handles this for you wherever you write?

Get Sapling

Examples in Context

Examples of “penance”

(Vibhandaka's penance was disturbed by the celestial…
…scene and the Sacrament of Penance.
…is not through depressing, hard penance.
…and founding a "house of penance" for them.
The council set down penance to be done for not…
The Literature of Penance in Anglo-Saxon England.
“Bishops, priests and penance in late Saxon England.” Early…
…path to unity, for example, penance, patience, gratitude, hope and fear,…
…a century of sleep as penance before being allowed to return…
…it as a form of penance.

Examples of “pennants”

…first three Eastern Colored League pennants beginning in 1923 and in…
Robinson won four pennants and two World Series with…
Eastern Colored League Pennants
…were with the A's (three pennants and a World Series title…
…help St. Louis win three pennants and two World Series championships.
…the Daisies win three straight pennants in the Eastern Colored League…
…1923 and won the first-place pennants in 1923, 1924, and 1925.

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

Too Much to Remember?

Install Sapling