expiation
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.
Expiation and consolation come when, after years spent in America, Joachim returns to Germany, settles down to be a fisherman.
From Time Magazine Archive
Expiation for sin, the need of, 124; universally acknowledged, 124--especially in Grecian mythology, 125--and in the language of Greece and Rome, 125.
From Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by Cocker, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)
I am drinking the bitter cup of expiation; but as I drink it I painfully spell out this sentence: Expiation is not annihilation.
From Honorine by Balzac, Honoré de
Expiation, then, is a word that has no application in the world.
From The Inferno by O'Brien, Edward J. (Edward Joseph Harrington)
The food stuck in his throat, he said grace, returned to Shool, put on the Tallis, and started to intone tunefully the Prayer of Expiation.
From Yiddish Tales by Various
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.
