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Definition of "expiate" []

  • To make amends or reparation for; atone: expiate one's sins by acts of penance. (verb-transitive)
  • To make amends; atone. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "expiate" in a sentence
  • "He realized the gravity of his action, in killing the Tsar's representative, and, while viewing it as necessary, resolved to "expiate" his crime by taking his own life."
  • "This guy and his former boss, Mike Huckabee, wear their religion on their sleeve and use it to expiate guilt and diffuse personal accountability for what they do."
  • "She could gain her freedom from jail by agreeing to marry her rapist, and thus expiate her "adultery.""