as in to compensate
to make up for (an offense)
Yom Kippur is the holy day on which Jews are expected to expiate sins committed during the past year
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Recent Examples of expiate
Larded throughout this scene is that unmistakable suggestion, yet again, that the play exists because its playwright needed — if not to right a cosmic wrong — to create a place to house or expiate his grief.
—
Rhoda Feng, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026
The Sisters have come a long way, but never strayed from their mission: to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2023
But now Epstein, 49, is wearing a different hat, and hoping to expiate his unintended sins against a sport that has been his lifelong passion.
—David Axelrod, CNN, 1 Apr. 2023
In the former category are Ani (Katy Sullivan), who lost her legs in a car accident, and her ex-husband Eddie (David Zayas), a good-natured, unemployed truck driver who insists on caring for Ani, possibly to expiate his guilt over cheating on her when they were married.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Oct. 2022
Only the brilliant Richard Fleischer–Norman Wexler Mandingo in 1975 would expiate that consciousness.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 Apr. 2022
In 17th-century Austria, wooden pillars were erected for the self-mortifying convenience of the flagellants who roamed Europe, whipping themselves to expiate whatever sins had brought on the Black Death.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 15 Mar. 2021
Ridding oneself of guilt is often easier than overcoming shame, in part because our society offers many ways to expiate guilt-inducing offenses, including apologizing, paying fines, and serving jail time.
—Annette Kämmerer, Scientific American, 9 Aug. 2019
Anyone who’s familiar with the world of competitive cycling knows that, for some athletes, the sport is a means of escaping, or salving, or expiating, tremendous inner pain.
—Bill Gifford, Outside Online, 24 July 2019
Rhoda Feng, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026
The Sisters have come a long way, but never strayed from their mission: to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2023
But now Epstein, 49, is wearing a different hat, and hoping to expiate his unintended sins against a sport that has been his lifelong passion.
—David Axelrod, CNN, 1 Apr. 2023
In the former category are Ani (Katy Sullivan), who lost her legs in a car accident, and her ex-husband Eddie (David Zayas), a good-natured, unemployed truck driver who insists on caring for Ani, possibly to expiate his guilt over cheating on her when they were married.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Oct. 2022
Only the brilliant Richard Fleischer–Norman Wexler Mandingo in 1975 would expiate that consciousness.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 Apr. 2022
In 17th-century Austria, wooden pillars were erected for the self-mortifying convenience of the flagellants who roamed Europe, whipping themselves to expiate whatever sins had brought on the Black Death.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 15 Mar. 2021
Ridding oneself of guilt is often easier than overcoming shame, in part because our society offers many ways to expiate guilt-inducing offenses, including apologizing, paying fines, and serving jail time.
—Annette Kämmerer, Scientific American, 9 Aug. 2019
Anyone who’s familiar with the world of competitive cycling knows that, for some athletes, the sport is a means of escaping, or salving, or expiating, tremendous inner pain.
—Bill Gifford, Outside Online, 24 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expiate
Verb
-
So in one scenario, the researchers held the planet’s temperature constant (equal to today’s) and let CO2 drop to compensate exactly for the brighter Sun.—
Scott K. Johnson,
ArsTechnica,
15 June 2026
-
Add 2 ounces of water to compensate for shaking.—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Any available upgrade seats are first offered to passengers who opt to upgrade using dollars, then to those redeeming frequent flyer miles, and finally, complimentary upgrades will be offered to elite status members.—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
12 June 2026
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Rather than building toward a meaningful reward, consumers shift to short-term behavior which includes redeeming for low value items, disengaging, or spreading loyalty across multiple programs to hedge against future devaluation.—
Gary Drenik,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
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In other words, as much as 8% of the district’s budget gets spent on repaying debt.—
Joe Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2026
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Others, such as Langley, scoffed at the idea of repaying NCDOT.—
Nicholas Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Systems that cannot explain their decisions cannot be corrected.—
David Flower,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
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The fine was the result of an administrative oversight, and the issue was promptly corrected with no impact on the environment, Disneyland officials told the Register.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expiate. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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