expiation
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
- expiational adjective
- nonexpiation noun
Etymology
Origin of expiation
1375–1425; late Middle English expiacioun < Latin expiātiōn- (stem of expiātiō ) atonement, satisfaction. See expiate, -ion
Explanation
The act of expiation is a way to atone for something you did that was wrong. It was originally used in a religious context, with expiation the way a person could gain forgiveness from a god. If you've ever tried to make up for something you did wrong, then you understand the notion of expiation. The idea of atonement stretches across all religions, from Judaism’s Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) to perhaps the most famous example of expiation, the Christian doctrine of Christ dying to absolve the world's sins. You definitely don't need to be religious to seek expiation. People who commit crimes and even make small mistakes seek expiation every day.
Vocabulary lists containing expiation
The Scarlet Letter
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Oedipus the King
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A Tale of Two Cities
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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.
Rather, each of these minions is in thrall to the project of keeping the lie alive, complicit in a pathological system of mortification, expiation, and fear that has taken on a life of its own.
From Slate • Sep. 15, 2023
“Until it is returned at least as a symbolic gesture of expiation it will remain evidence of the loot, plunder and misappropriation that colonialism was really all about.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2022
David Berman became a cult hero singer-songwriter largely because he never said much, making his public expiation all the more startling.
From Washington Post • Jun. 3, 2019
As if in expiation for his role during the Nixon years, the main theme in his books and speeches is to sound the alarm about abuses of presidential power.
From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2017
When all were completed and full expiation made for the death of his wife and children, he would seem to have earned ease and tranquillity for the rest of his life.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
