expiate

[ ek-spee-eyt ]

/ ˈɛk spiˌeɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR expiate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ex·pi·at·ed, ex·pi·at·ing.

to atone for; make amends or reparation for: to expiate one's crimes.

Nearby words

expertism, expertize, expertly, experto crede, expiable, expiate, expiation, expiatory, expiration, expiration date, expiratory

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

Related formsex·pi·a·tor, nounun·ex·pi·at·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for expiate

These are autumnal deaths to expiate the sins of a people and appease the heavens so summer might return.
Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley|John Garth|November 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Can it, as the prophets suggest, expiate our sins and bring us closer to God?
The Enlightenment Diet|Bruce Feiler|September 27, 2009|DAILY BEAST
For thus only can they hope to expiate their great offence in the sight of Heaven.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 344, June, 1844|Various
He could easily finish it in six weeks, and expiate the crime by months of journalism.
The Divine Fire|May Sinclair

One tale is of an old farmer who, after death, here had to expiate his misdoings.
Dartmoor|Arthur L. Salmon
The Sister, by what other virtues can she expiate a neglect of the claims of her beautiful relation?
The Young Maiden|A. B. (Artemas Bowers) Muzzey
"We expiate the happiness of ten years in ten minutes," she heard the duchess say.
Modeste Mignon|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for expiate

expiate

/ (ˈɛkspɪˌeɪt) /

verb

(tr) to atone for or redress (sin or wrongdoing); make amends for

Derived Formsexpiator, noun

Word Origin for expiate

C16: from Latin expiāre, from pius dutiful; see pious

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

Word Origin and History for expiate

expiate

c.1600 (OED entry has a typographical error in the earliest date), from Latin expiatus, past participle of expiare "to make amends, atone for (see expiation). Related: Expiable (1560s); expiated; expiating.

expiate

verb (used with object), ex·pi·at·ed, ex·pi·at·ing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of expiate

Examples from the Web for expiate

British Dictionary definitions for expiate

expiate

verb

Word Origin for expiate

Word Origin and History for expiate

expiate