atoning (for)

present participle of atone (for)
as in making amends for
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 atoning (for)
Verb
  • The government agreed this year to settle an excessive force lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union by paying compensating several plaintiffs for their injuries.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Citizens protested the use of the government subsidies, which went toward compensating the Kings and their opponents — the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins — for travel, accommodations and other financial losses.
    Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • If the script is a tad heavy-handed in making Clara seem almost indifferent to her mother’s suffering, Touzani is too generous a director not to allow the character some redeeming displays of conscience before the domestic drama plays out.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The OxyChem deal largely solves the debt problem, although Oxy won’t begin redeeming Berkshire’s preferred shares—and their 8% annual interest—until 2029.
    Jordan Blum, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • That harm might range from never repaying loans to stealing their spouse’s and children’s identities to access more credit.
    Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
  • For many borrowers, the thought of taking on new graduate debt is compounded by the reality of repaying existing loans.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The concealer, which is our favorite hack for dark circles, comes in 24 shades, including color-correcting options like green and pink.
    Alyssa Grabinski, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
  • By correcting those practices, there would be plenty of money to fairly pay staff, the union has asserted.
    Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2025
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 (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atoning%20%28for%29. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.

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