What does piacularity mean?
Piacularity means The quality of being piacular, of requiring atonement..
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Pronunciation varies by accent · noun
The quality of being piacular, of requiring atonement..
1849, Thomas De Quincey "The Theban Sphinx", page 141, The Collected Writings of Thomas De Quincey, volume 6, edited by David Masson, published 1890, by A. & C. Black [I]t illustrates a profound but obscure idea of pagan ages, which is connected with the elementary glimpses of man into the abysses of his higher relations, and lurks mysteriously amongst what Milton so finely calls "the dark foundations" of our human nature. This notion, it is hard to express in modern phrase, for we have no idea exactly corresponding to it; but in Latin it was called piacularity.
Adam Smith also dwells on the closely related phenomenon of piacularity; a man who has unintentionally brought about the death or serious injury of another man will feel 'piacular', and spend the rest of his life trying to make up for it […]
Use piacularity when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Piacularity means The quality of being piacular, of requiring atonement..
The closest synonym depends on the sentence and intended sense.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
1849, Thomas De Quincey "The Theban Sphinx", page 141, The Collected Writings of Thomas De Quincey, volume 6, edited by David Masson, published 1890, by A. & C. Black [I]t illustrates a profound but obscure idea of pagan ages, which is connected with the elementary glimpses of man into the abysses of his higher relations, and lurks mysteriously amongst what Milton so finely calls "the dark foundations" of our human nature. This notion, it is hard to express in modern phrase, for we have no idea exactly corresponding to it; but in Latin it was called piacularity.
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