Thesaurus results for ATONING

atoning

verb

present participle of atone

as in confessing

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for atoning

Verb

Nikki Rodriguez’s character might still technically be dating Alex, but that isn’t stopping her from flirting with his brother after confessing her love in the season 2 finale.

— Kat Pettibone, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Aug. 2026
The second season of the Netflix hit ended on a cliffhanger with Jackie (Rodriguez) and Cole (LaLonde) finally confessing their feelings for each other, but Cole’s brother — and Jackie’s boyfriend — Alex (Gentry) hears the confession.

— Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2026

Definition of confessing

Verb

Maggie eventually, after apologizing repeatedly, offers to let Negan stab her in return, as though that would balance the scales.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Finally, prosecutors presented new evidence, including Colt’s notebooks outlining his plans and his statements to investigators admitting to the shooting and apologizing.

— Isabel Rosales, CNN Money, 24 July 2026

Definition of apologizing

Verb

Not that Miss Manners is excusing those who burst into dinner parties after the roast has been ruined — along with the other guests’ attitudes, most likely — and then blame it on traffic.

— Judith Martin, Mercury News, 28 July 2026
Part of that is the team’s fault, as Boone and Cashman have spent much of his career staunchly defending and excusing the former first-round pick’s poor play.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 8 July 2026

Definition of excusing

Verb

Japan’s Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum has been accused of whitewashing the country’s wartime past.

— George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2026
The overnight removal and replacement of the panels, steps from Independence Hall, sparked outrage from Philadelphia officials and activists who say federal authorities are whitewashing the city’s history of slavery.

— Corey Williams, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of whitewashing

Verb

Other extenuating circumstances beyond Goodman’s control also might be contributing to his reputation within the industry as a subpar defender.

— Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 27 July 2026
But, generally, only one property can be claimed, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

— Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 30 June 2026

Definition of extenuating

Verb

Steve Nesius | Reuters For analysts at Bernstein, Starship is the most important issue for SpaceX in justifying its valuation.

— Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
Organizations that approach agentic AI this way build foundational capabilities that span dozens of workflows and shift the ROI conversation from justifying each agent individually to achieving compounding returns across the enterprise.

— Joe Locandro, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of justifying

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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“Atoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atoning. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of atoning

verb

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