as in reparation
an act taken in order to redeem oneself
He resolved to make atonement to those he had wronged by doing good deeds for them.
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Recent Examples of atonement
As part of this act of atonement, four bulls and four heifers are slaughtered at the sanctuaries of the nymphs, and their bodies are left in a grove.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Apr. 2026
Every American should have a bad conscience about Afghanistan, but my obsession with getting them to a safe place doesn’t feel like atonement.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2026
Witherspoon was due for atonement.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The organization added that a true sign of atonement from Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, would be to refrain from antisemitism in the future, concluding their statement by wishing him well on his mental health journey.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for atonement
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Apr. 2026
Every American should have a bad conscience about Afghanistan, but my obsession with getting them to a safe place doesn’t feel like atonement.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2026
Witherspoon was due for atonement.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The organization added that a true sign of atonement from Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, would be to refrain from antisemitism in the future, concluding their statement by wishing him well on his mental health journey.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for atonement
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atonement
Noun
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Reports also suggest that Iran expects to receive, through some unspecified payment mechanism, potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in de-facto reparations for damage caused by the war.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
18 June 2026
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At least five states, including California, New York and Maryland, and more than a dozen cities, including Boston, Detroit and Philadelphia, have created have created task forces or commissions to study slavery reparations.—
Safiyah Riddle,
Fortune,
17 June 2026
Noun
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Start by checking your credit card debt forgiveness eligibility here.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
23 June 2026
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The move comes as the department prepares to implement controversial changes to the PSLF program that would give Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sweeping authority to cut off borrowers from loan forgiveness.—
Adam S. Minsky,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Atonement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atonement. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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