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Synonyms

expiatory

American  
[ek-spee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈɛk spi əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

adjective

  1. able to make atonement or expiation; offered by way of expiation.

    expiatory sacrifices.


expiatory British  
/ ˈɛkspɪətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

  1. capable of making expiation

  2. given or offered in expiation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of expiatory

1540–50; < Late Latin expiātōrius, equivalent to expiā ( re ) ( see expiate) + -tōrius -tory 1


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.

See Examples For:

"After the great Christ paintings of the Renaissance, this is the first nonreligious painting of an expiatory personage, a self-sacrifice figure."

From Time Magazine Archive

As the state Librarian dryly explained: "It is an expiatory sacrifice to veracity, to good sense and true taste."

From Time Magazine Archive

As some satisfaction for the indignity offered him, the bust of his patron became an expiatory sacrifice.

From Life of Beethoven by Anton Schindler

When Ekkehard was performing his expiatory prayers, many thoughts and reflections on timely zeal, good will and other people's judgment thereon, crossed his mind.

From Ekkehard. Vol. I (of II) A Tale of the Tenth Century by Joseph Victor von Scheffel

Lastly, the origin of the Delphinian expiatory festival from Delphi and Crete is as evident as its introduction by the Ionian princes; for Ægeus dwelt in the Delphinium, and was there buried.

From The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race, Vol. 1 of 2 by Karl Otfried Müller

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