expiations
Acts of penance
Expiations are acts performed to make amends for wrongdoing or to atone for guilt.
The word carries religious and formal overtones, suggesting that the offense requires more than a simple apology—some deed or sacrifice must restore moral balance.
His years of charity work served as expiations for the harm he had caused.
In theological contexts, expiations often involve rituals or offerings meant to cleanse sin and restore one's standing before God.
Compensation for wrongdoing
- reparationCompensation for injury done
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
- rectificationAct of setting straight
compensation · indemnity · redress · satisfaction · appeasement · making good · restoration · remedy
Giving up something precious
- offeringSomething presented or given
- oblationReligious gift offering
- libationCeremonial drink offering
- altarSacred ritual table
rite · ceremony · purification · lustration · burnt offering · votive · immolation · sacrament
Formal clearing of guilt
- pardonOfficial release from punishment
- mercyCompassion toward offenders
- clemencyMerciful treatment of offenders
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
remission · acquittal · reprieve · deliverance · amnesty · exoneration · release · dispensation
Admission of wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- fastingDeliberate food avoidance
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
- flagellationBeating with a whip
self-denial · abstinence · prayer · pilgrimage · sackcloth · ashes · lent · self-punishment
Guilt for wrongdoing
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- regretSorrow over past actions
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
compunction · penitence · sorrow · contrition · self-condemnation · conscience · wrongdoing · transgression
amends
Compensation for wrongdoing
- reparationCompensation for injury done
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
rectification · compensation · indemnity · redress · satisfaction · appeasement · making good · restoration · remedy · settlement
sacrifice
Giving up something precious
- offeringSomething presented or given
- oblationReligious gift offering
- libationCeremonial drink offering
altar · rite · ceremony · purification · lustration · burnt offering · votive · immolation · sacrament · consecration
absolution
Formal clearing of guilt
- pardonOfficial release from punishment
- mercyCompassion toward offenders
- clemencyMerciful treatment of offenders
grace · remission · acquittal · reprieve · deliverance · amnesty · exoneration · release · dispensation · salvation
confession
Admission of wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- fastingDeliberate food avoidance
- mortificationIntense shame or embarrassment
flagellation · self-denial · abstinence · prayer · pilgrimage · sackcloth · ashes · lent · self-punishment · discipline
remorse
Guilt for wrongdoing
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- regretSorrow over past actions
- self-reproachBlaming oneself for wrongdoing
culpability · compunction · penitence · sorrow · contrition · self-condemnation · conscience · wrongdoing · transgression · sin
expiationsoffenses
Violations of law or rules
transgressions · sins · wrongdoings · crimes · misdeeds
expiationsincriminations
Charges suggesting guilt
condemnations · defilements · corruptions · unrepentance · impenitence
expiationsrecidivism
Habitual return to crime
unrepentance · retaliation · vengeance · impenitence · revenge