Meaning

(ambitransitive) To atone or make reparation for..

Definitions by Sense

1. (ambitransitive) To atone or make reparation for.
2. (transitive) To make amends or pay the penalty for.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To relieve or cleanse of guilt.
4. (transitive) To purify with sacred rites.
5. (transitive) To wind up, bring to an end.

Example Sentences

The Treasurer obliged himself to expiate the injury.

At laſt, he diſtinctly pronounced theſe three words, LET THIS EXPIATE! And then, his head ſinking on his pillow, he expired; […]

Thus those pious souls who expiate the remainder of their sins amidst such tortures will receive a special and opportune consolation, […]

I am going out to expiate a great wrong, Paul. A very necessary feature of the expiation is the marksmanship of my opponent.

The first change of regime came with the release of my more difficult mathematical, empirical, and scholarly work in a dozen articles in a variety of journals in an attempt to expiate my crime of having sold too many books.

He had only to live and expiate in solitude the crimes which he had committed.

And when it was required of him by the rigid laws of a haphazard justice, which in retrospect seems like every night of the week, he pressed his limp forelock into a filthy washbasin, clutched a tap in each throbbing hand, and expiated a string of crimes he didn't know he had committed until they were thoughtfully explained to him between each stroke by Mr. Willow or his representatives.

[…] and Epimenides was brought from Crete to expiate the city.

Word Forms

• expiates
• expiating
• expiated

Synonyms for expiate

Related Words

When Should You Use Expiate?

Use expiate when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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