Expiate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɛk.spi.eɪt/

Definitions

1. To make amends or atonement for a wrongdoing through some form of punishment or compensatory action
2. To atone for a serious offense or guilt through suffering, punishment, or reparative acts
3. To make amends for a grave wrongdoing by undergoing penalty or performing compensatory deeds

Etymology: The verb comes from Latin "expiare," built from "ex-," meaning "out" or "thoroughly," and "piare," to appease or propitiate, a sense tied to "pius," meaning dutiful or devout. The Latin idea was less about feeling sorry than about removing a stain. A wrong left a kind of pollution on a person or community, and the ritual of expiation was the means of cleansing it, so the original sense is closer to "to purge completely" than to "to apologize." English took the word from the past participle "expiātus," which was the form that passed into the language as the basis of the verb. Its meaning in English stayed close to the Roman one for a long time: to atone for a sin or crime, usually by paying a penalty or performing a required act. The emphasis on a concrete act of compensation, rather than on remorse, is one of the features that still separates it from "repent" or "regret."

Synonyms: atone, redeem, rectify, compensate, make amends

Antonyms: offend, sin, wrong, harm, injure