as in to apologize
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of atone
Yet this movie is great enough to atone.
—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
19 Feb. 2026
This should be more of a business trip for the youngster — though he could be motivated by wanting to atone for last season’s poor showing.
—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
However, the actual volumes added have been smaller than advertised as some countries physically struggle to increase, and others atone for earlier overproduction.
—
Grant Smith,
Fortune,
4 Jan. 2026
Research tells us that New Year’s resolutions, a popular noncontractual commitment, began over 3,000 years ago in Babylonian culture and shortly after in other cultures as a way, in general, to atone for questionable practices and/or debt.
—
Chicago Tribune,
3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for atone
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
19 Feb. 2026
This should be more of a business trip for the youngster — though he could be motivated by wanting to atone for last season’s poor showing.
—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
However, the actual volumes added have been smaller than advertised as some countries physically struggle to increase, and others atone for earlier overproduction.
—
Grant Smith,
Fortune,
4 Jan. 2026
Research tells us that New Year’s resolutions, a popular noncontractual commitment, began over 3,000 years ago in Babylonian culture and shortly after in other cultures as a way, in general, to atone for questionable practices and/or debt.
—
Chicago Tribune,
3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for atone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atone
Verb
-
This situation has been addressed, and everyone involved has apologized.
-
JoongAng Group vice chair Hong Jeong-do apologized at a news conference.
Verb
-
Elsewhere in the episode, Sheridan confessed to not caring about the opinions of television critics.
-
During her trial, prosecutors played a recording of Yang confessing to Reuter's murder to a friend who was wearing a wire.
Verb
-
Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.
-
Senior-home avatars who are designed to palliate dementia patients in their darkest days.
Verb
-
Demings uses the go-to excuse that state legislation bans using the TDT on local projects.
-
She’s been canceled, kidnapped, and bamboozled, happy to tell anyone who’ll listen, and who’ll excuse her typos.
Verb
-
After Young amended the curriculum to remove one definition of slavery for third-graders for redundancy, Clark accused some board members of whitewashing history.
-
The current administration is engaged in an effort to bowdlerize American history, stripping away complexity in favor of easy myth and hagiography, not to mention the attempt to whitewash more recent events.
Verb
-
Wall Street is increasingly punishing Big Tech companies for spending on AI without profits to justify it.
-
Thus far, Meta was only monetizing AI through its advertising, which is a great business but can be cyclical and was not enough to justify using all its cash flow.
Verb
-
As the show began to wrap up, Goldberg aimed to try to tie in the book, asking Vance about rationalizing his Catholic faith with a hard-line stance on immigration.
-
The pope has fiercely criticized joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and rebuked world leaders for invoking religious language to rationalize war and voiced opposition to the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Cite this Entry
“Atone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atone. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
