penitence
noun
penitence is spelled P-E-N-I-T-E-N-C-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, penitence means “The condition of being penitent; a feeling of regret or remorse for doing wrong or sinning” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of penitence is penitences.
How many letters and syllables are in penitence?
| Letters | 9: P-E-N-I-T-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 70,702nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is penitence?
Penitence appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of penitence
- penitences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does penitence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The condition of being penitent; a feeling of regret or remorse for doing wrong or sinning.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Penitence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense condition of being penitent:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Reue, Bußfertigkeit, Buße |
| Portuguese | contrição, penitência |
| Spanish | penitencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does penitence come from?
First attested circa 13th century, from Middle English penitence, from Old French penitence, from Latin paenitentia (“repentance, penitence”), from paenitēns (“penitent”), present active participle of paeniteō (“regret, repent”). Equivalent to penitent + -ence. Doublet of penance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).