expiating
Paying for sins
Expiating is making amends for wrongdoing or guilt.
The word carries religious and moral weight—you expiate sins, crimes, or shameful acts through punishment, sacrifice, or atonement: He spent years expiating his betrayal.
The process implies working off a debt rather than simply apologizing.
Compensation for wrongdoing
- reparationCompensation for injury done
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
- rectificationAct of setting straight
compensation · making good · redress · settlement · satisfaction · apology · rectify · reform
Deliverance from harm
- deliveranceRescue from bondage
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- liberationRelease from constraint
renewal · restoration · transformation · second chance · cleansing · purification · spiritual healing · sanctification
Guilt for wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- regretSorrow over past actions
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
culpability · repentance · compunction · sorrow · confession · accountability · responsibility · penitence
Deliberate food avoidance
- flagellationBeating with a whip
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- sackclothCoarse fabric for penance
- self-punishmentHurting oneself for wrongdoing
asceticism · hairshirt · self-denial · scourging · self-mortification · pilgrimage · prostration · vigil
amends
Compensation for wrongdoing
- reparationCompensation for injury done
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
rectification · compensation · making good · redress · settlement · satisfaction · apology · rectify · reform · mea culpa
salvation
Deliverance from harm
- deliveranceRescue from bondage
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
liberation · renewal · restoration · transformation · second chance · cleansing · purification · spiritual healing · sanctification · rebirth
remorse
Guilt for wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- regretSorrow over past actions
self-reproach · culpability · repentance · compunction · sorrow · confession · accountability · responsibility · penitence · self-blame
fasting
Deliberate food avoidance
- flagellationBeating with a whip
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- sackclothCoarse fabric for penance
self-punishment · asceticism · hairshirt · self-denial · scourging · self-mortification · pilgrimage · prostration · vigil · abstinence
expiatingsinning
Committing moral wrongs
transgressing · offending · wrongdoing · reoffending · trespassing
expiatingstaining
Applying dye or pigment
tainting · polluting · sullying · damning · incriminating
expiatingevading
Skillfully keeping away from
denying · shirking · excusing · rationalizing · covering up