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Definition of expiate verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

expiate

verb
 
/ˈekspieɪt/
 
/ˈekspieɪt/
(formal)
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they expiate
 
/ˈekspieɪt/
 
/ˈekspieɪt/
he / she / it expiates
 
/ˈekspieɪts/
 
/ˈekspieɪts/
past simple expiated
 
/ˈekspieɪtɪd/
 
/ˈekspieɪtɪd/
past participle expiated
 
/ˈekspieɪtɪd/
 
/ˈekspieɪtɪd/
-ing form expiating
 
/ˈekspieɪtɪŋ/
 
/ˈekspieɪtɪŋ/
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  1. expiate something to accept punishment for something that you have done wrong in order to show that you are sorry
    • He had a chance to confess and expiate his guilt.
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryExpiate is used with these nouns as the object:
    • sin
    See full entry
    Word Originlate 16th cent. (in the sense ‘end (rage, sorrow, etc.) by suffering it to the full’): from Latin expiat- ‘appeased by sacrifice’, from the verb expiare, from ex- ‘out’ + piare (from pius ‘pious’).
See expiate in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
previously
adverb
 
 
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