Expiatory (Adjective)
Meaning
Having power to atone for or offered by way of expiation or propitiation; "expiatory (or propitiatory) sacrifice".
Classification
Relational adjectives (pertainyms).
Examples
- The expiatory rituals were performed by the priests to cleanse the community of its sins.
- In ancient cultures, animals were often used as expiatory sacrifices to appease the gods.
- The people believed that making an expiatory offering to the gods would bring them good fortune.
- According to legend, the king's death was seen as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of the nation.
- The priest performed an expiatory ceremony to atone for the sins of the people.