expiate
Definitions
To atone for a sin, crime, or wrongdoing through a costly or self-sacrificing act
通过付出代价或自我牺牲来赎（罪）、弥补（过错）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedex- (out) + pi (from pius, 'pious') + -ate (verb) = 'to drive guilt out through a pious act.' For ancient Romans, expiation was a ritual or sacrifice that cleansed an offense against the gods. The word kept that gravity: to expiate is not merely to apologize but to make real, costly amends until the wrong is genuinely washed away.
Usage Guide
Formal and literary; rarely heard in everyday speech. Typical objects are weighty moral nouns: expiate a sin / a crime / guilt / one's wrongdoing. You don't 'expiate' a small mistake — use apologize for or make up for instead.
Example Sentences
- 1.
He spent years doing charity work to expiate the guilt of his past.
- 2.
No amount of money could expiate the harm he had caused.
- 3.
In the old myth, the hero must expiate his crime before the gods relent.