Synonyms of expiate

expiate

verb

ˈek-spē-ˌāt 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• compensate
• redeem
• repay
• correct
• atone (for)
• make amends for
• amend
• make good for
• reimburse
• rectify
• redress
• mend
• propitiate
• recompense
• remunerate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of expiate

They are bound together not only by their shared grief, but also by the unspoken guilt and blame that Lux and Ella can only hope to expiate through each other. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026

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

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

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

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