Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To make amends or reparation for; atone for.
- intransitive verb To make amends; atone.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To atone for; make satisfaction or reparation for; remove or endeavor to remove the moral guilt of (a crime or evil act), or counteract its evil effects, by suffering a penalty or doing some counterbalancing good.
- To avert by certain observances.
- Expired.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To extinguish the guilt of by sufferance of penalty or some equivalent; to make complete satisfaction for; to atone for; to make amends for; to make expiation for.
- transitive verb obsolete To purify with sacred rites.
- adjective obsolete Terminated.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive or intransitive To
atone or makereparation for. - verb transitive To make
amends or pay thepenalty for. - verb transitive, obsolete To
relieve orcleanse ofguilt .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb make amends for
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He realized the gravity of his action, in killing the Tsar's representative, and, while viewing it as necessary, resolved to "expiate" his crime by taking his own life.
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He realized the gravity of his action, in killing the Tsar's representative, and, while viewing it as necessary, resolved to "expiate" his crime by taking his own life.
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We feel a tinge of guilt that we expiate in this season of giving.
William Grassie: Christmas From The Outside In: A Meditation
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She could gain her freedom from jail by agreeing to marry her rapist, and thus expiate her "adultery."
David Katz, M.D.: Dignifying Health: Why Not Quite Everything Is Relative
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We can expiate that sin in this vital mid-term election.
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We feel a tinge of guilt that we expiate in this season of giving.
William Grassie: Christmas From The Outside In: A Meditation
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She could gain her freedom from jail by agreeing to marry her rapist, and thus expiate her "adultery."
David Katz, M.D.: Dignifying Health: Why Not Quite Everything Is Relative
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She could gain her freedom from jail by agreeing to marry her rapist, and thus expiate her "adultery."
David Katz, M.D.: Dignifying Health: Why Not Quite Everything Is Relative
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This guy and his former boss, Mike Huckabee, wear their religion on their sleeve and use it to expiate guilt and diffuse personal accountability for what they do.
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She could gain her freedom from jail by agreeing to marry her rapist, and thus expiate her "adultery."
David Katz, M.D.: Dignifying Health: Why Not Quite Everything Is Relative
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