atoning

present participle of atone

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for atoning
Verb
  • On July 23, 1973, tragedy rippled through the Mexican American community when 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez was shot and killed by a Dallas police officer who tried to coerce him into confessing to a burglary by playing Russian roulette.
    — Alexis Guerrero, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Throw in some divine intervention with the first Chicago pope confessing his allegiance to the South Siders, and the Cinderella story has captured the nation’s imagination.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Shortly after the report was published, sources debunked it, stating that Harry and Meghan have no intention of apologizing to the royal family.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 11 Oct. 2026
  • As Annie was apologizing, the woman with the curls took the bottle from her hand and threw it back anyway.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • This story does not suggest that reconciliation requires forgetting the past or excusing harmful choices.
    — Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Unable to picture evil as anything other than devilish, critics accused Arendt of excusing the perpetrators and blaming the victims.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • To freshmen from then to now, whitewashing the rock(s) before the season has tended to create a sense of belonging and ownership.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Japan’s Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum has been accused of whitewashing the country’s wartime past.
    — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2026
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
Verb
  • But Lewis said justifying camera movements through human mannerisms and tics also made the drone the episode’s poignant exhale.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The frontier lab’s figures are seen as key to understanding underlying demand for cutting-edge AI models, as well as justifying the huge global spending on tech infrastructure.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 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

“Atoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atoning. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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