Adjacent Words

Expiate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EX'PIATE, v.t. [L. expio; ex and pio, to worship, to atone; pius, pious, mild. The primary sense is probably to appease, to pacify, to allay resentment, which is the usual sense of atone in most languages which I have examined. Pio is probably contracted from pico, and from the root of paco, the radical sense of which is to lay, set or fix; the primary sense of peach, pax. Hence the sense of mild in pius. But this opinion is offered only as probable.
1. To atone for; to make satisfaction for; to extinguish the guilt of a crime by subsequent acts of piety or worship, by which the obligation to punish the crime is canceled. To expiate guilt or a crime, is to perform some act which is supposed to purify the person guilty; or some act which is accepted by the offended party as satisfaction for the injury; that is, some act by which his wrath is appeased,and his forgiveness procured.
2. To make reparation for; as, to expiate an injury.
3. To avert the threats of prodigies.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: make amends for; "expiate one's sins" [syn: expiate, aby, abye, atone]

Merriam Webster's

verb (-ated; -ating) Etymology: Latin expiatus, past participle of expiare to atone for, from ex- + piare to atone for, appease, from pius faithful, pious Date: circa 1500 transitive verb 1. obsolete to put an end to 2. a. to extinguish the guilt incurred by b. to make amends for <permission to expiate their offences by their assiduous labours — Francis Bacon> intransitive verb to make expiation • expiable adjective • expiator noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 pay the penalty for (wrongdoing). 2 make amends for. Derivatives: expiable adj. expiatory adj. expiation n. expiator n. Etymology: L expiare expiat- (as EX-(1), pius devout)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Expiate Ex"pi*ate, a. [L. expiatus,p. p] Terminated. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Expiate Ex"pi*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Expiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Expiating.] [L. expiatus, p. p. of expiare to expiate; ex out + piare to seek to appease, to purify with sacred rites, fr. pius pious. See Pious.] 1. To extinguish the guilt of by sufferance of penalty or some equivalent; to make complete satisfaction for; to atone for; to make amends for; to make expiation for; as, to expiate a crime, a guilt, or sin. To expiate his treason, hath naught left. --Milton. The Treasurer obliged himself to expiate the injury. --Clarendon. 2. To purify with sacred rites. [Obs.] Neither let there be found among you any one that shall expiate his son or daughter, making them to pass through the fire. --Deut. xviii. 10 (Douay version)

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(expiates, expiating, expiated) If you expiate guilty feelings or bad behaviour, you do something to indicate that you are sorry for what you have done. (FORMAL) It seemed that Alice was expiating her father's sins with her charity work. VERB: V n, also V for n • expiation ...an often painful process of evaluation and expiation.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Atone for, do penance for, make satisfaction or reparation for.

Moby Thesaurus

amend, atone, atone for, compensate, compensate for, correct, cover, do penance, fill up, give and take, give satisfaction, indemnify, live down, make amends, make compensation, make good, make matters up, make reparation, make right, make up for, pay back, pay the forfeit, pay the penalty, propitiate, put right, recompense, rectify, redeem, redress, remedy, repair, repay, retaliate, satisfy, set right, square it, square things