Definition of atone (for)next
as in to compensate
to make up for (an offense) tried to atone for forgetting their anniversary by giving his wife a truly extravagant gift

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for atone (for)
Verb
  • Modern hearing aids have some ability to compensate, by using directional microphones and conventional noise cancellation.
    David Owen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Paul Reed will have an elevated role off the bench to compensate for Stewart's departure.
    Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • This ticket must be redeemed at one of the nine Florida Lottery offices throughout the state.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Also in the app, members will find an option to redeem points for 50 cents off per gallon at participating Shell stations.
    Mike Snider, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • As the most consistently excellent side in rugby union history, the All Blacks usually repaid any reaction by inflicting a defeat.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • When that federal disaster relief money or insurance proceeds come in, those funds can go toward repaying the loans.
    Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 10 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • And although the Maroon reissue featured OG-style Nike Air branding, it wasn’t featured on the Sport Blue release just one year prior — an omission Nike will reportedly seek to correct on the forthcoming 2027 drop.
    Riley Jones, Footwear News, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Counsell was also unsure if correcting or altering mechanics could solve the issue.
    Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • They are bound together not only by their shared grief, but also by the unspoken guilt and blame that Lux and Ella can only hope to expiate through each other.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Larded throughout this scene is that unmistakable suggestion, yet again, that the play exists because its playwright needed — if not to right a cosmic wrong — to create a place to house or expiate his grief.
    Rhoda Feng, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Atone (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atone%20%28for%29. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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