expiate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has expiatedperfect 3rd person singular
-
are expiatingprogressive
-
is expiatingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
have expiatedperfect
-
have been expiatingperfect progressive
-
expiatingparticiple
-
expiatessingular 3rd person
-
has been expiatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
am expiatingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
-
had expiatedperfect
-
was expiatingprogressive singular
-
expiatedsimple
-
were expiatingprogressive plural
-
expiatedparticiple
-
had been expiatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of expiate
1585–95; < Latin expiātus (past participle of expiāre to atone for, make good), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + piā ( re ) to propitiate ( see pious) + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
In the fairy tale, the baker must expiate his father’s sins by bringing the witch three ingredients for a magic potion: a cow, a cape and a slipper. Expiate means to make amends or atone for a wrong you or someone else has committed. After the incident on the hill, a mortified Jill expiated her guilt by buying Jack a brand new crown. The shiny new crown served as compensation, or expiation, for the broken one. That it cost her so dearly made the expiatory gesture especially meaningful to poor Jack.
Vocabulary lists containing expiate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Expiate, eks′pi-āt, v.t. to make complete atonement for: to make satisfaction or reparation for.—p.adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
And will he die to Expiate those very Injuries?
From The Spectator, Volume 2. by Addison, Joseph
For what should I Be contrite? for my father's sin, already Expiate with what we all have undergone, And to be more than expiated by120 The ages prophesied, upon our seed.
From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 5 Poetry by Coleridge, Ernest Hartley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
