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
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Your lumbar spine is designed primarily for stability and not large degrees of rotation, so the stress of compensating takes a toll.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026 -
Arizona recently surrendered about a third of its allotted supply of the river through both mandatory and compensated voluntary cuts to keep Lake Mead from going dry.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2026
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Vouchers will be sent to the email used at checkout and customers have 90 days to redeem their vouchers and create their custom photo book, so plan now for Mother's Day gifting.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Developers front the cost, and the district issues bonds to repay the developer for the infrastructure investment.—
Nick Wooten,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
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If some borrowers never repay their loans, a bank might not have cash to meet withdrawals by depositors.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This article has been corrected to reflect that Sam Lilley and his fellow pilot were partially blamed for the crash in litigation filed by passengers.—
Emma Hurt,
AJC.com,
19 Feb. 2026
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This article was updated to correct a quote's attribution.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Sisters have come a long way, but never strayed from their mission: to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2023
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But now Epstein, 49, is wearing a different hat, and hoping to expiate his unintended sins against a sport that has been his lifelong passion.—
David Axelrod,
CNN,
1 Apr. 2023
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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 20 Feb. 2026.
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