as in to apologize
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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
-
Ukrainian officials apologized and said that the drones were aimed at military targets inside Russia, but were sent off course by Russian electronic interference.—
Stephen McGrath,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
-
Jewel, however, apologized for her performance after the inauguration.—
Erin Vanderhoof,
Vanity Fair,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
That same day, the then-Prince Charles had confessed his adultery on television.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
30 May 2026
-
But in the finale, Deborah confesses that her hands are bigger than Ava’s.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
1 Oct. 2024
-
Senior-home avatars who are designed to palliate dementia patients in their darkest days.—
Longreads,
Longreads,
12 Apr. 2024
Verb
-
Travolta never asks the audience to excuse Tony’s uglier qualities.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
-
Casey Schmitt can be excused for failing to catch Ketel Marte’s fifth-inning fly ball during the Giants’ 6-2 loss Monday.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
However, the other signs of whitewashing — multiple, vague but positive reviews — were not present.—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 May 2026
-
The attempts by the current administration to whitewash or erase certain aspects of American history, especially the horrors of slavery, are powerfully countered by the novel’s investigation of America’s origins and its polyphonic voices.—
Time,
Time,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
The screaming headlines followed by the official oops that came in the wake of the announcement of the 1996 Mars rock is something scientists are justified in wanting to keep off their resumes.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
1 June 2026
-
Perhaps the Thunder would see the upside of a SGA-Giannis-J-Dub core as justifying the risk of cutting down their depth to that extent.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
But since neo-Brandeisian thought rejects economics as a pseudo-science that rationalizes the desires of capital owners, that objection carries little weight.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2026
-
Given the extent to which this entire offense is slumping, the manager could have rationalized benching any one of several hitters.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Atone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atone. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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