atone
verb
\ ə-ˈtōn
\
\
atoned;
atoning
Definition of atone
: to make amends : to provide or serve as reparation or compensation for something bad or unwelcome
—usually + for He wanted to atone for his sins.But I think that he has within him a capacity for love, and an unselfishness, which almost atones for his dishonesty.— Anthony Trollope
1
: to make reparation or supply satisfaction for : expiate
—used in the passive voice with for a crime that must be atoned for
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Examples of atone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Redemption Penalties for two infractions cost Benjamin Pedersen an apparent win Friday, but the 20-year-old Dane atoned with an impressive 6.934-second victory in the second half of the weekend doubleheader. — Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Austin Cindric's frantic dash, and other nuggets from the Xfinity Series at Road America," 24 Aug. 2019 Barca will be desperate to atone for consecutive seasons of miraculous defeats, and Diego Simeone's Atleti are always a threat. — SI.com, "Why Real Madrid Fans Shouldn't Be Overly Optimistic Despite Summer Spending Spree," 7 July 2019 That means key characters have probably already died, leaving an all-star cast led by Don Johnson, Jeremy Irons, Regina King, Louis Gossett Jr. and Tim Blake Nelson to renew or atone for their legacy. — Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, "Superheroes behaving badly: 12 crusading TV series target mature audiences," 4 Aug. 2019 Atonement is a process Germany’s efforts to atone for the Holocaust were not limited to money. — Bernd Reiter, Quartz, "What US slavery reparations and post-Holocaust Germany have in common," 2 Aug. 2019 Pendergast atoned for a costly error in the top of the third with an RBI single to tie the game in the bottom half. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Four-run seventh lifts Arrowhead to shocking baseball state championship in 2009," 1 Aug. 2019 Many South Koreans feel that Japan hasn’t adequately atoned for abuses carried out during its colonial occupation of the peninsula. — Min Joo Kim, BostonGlobe.com, "South Korea warns of ‘emergency’ as spat escalates with Japan," 10 July 2019 Logical favorite could very well atone for that defeat with a clean trip from just off the pace. — courant.com, "Clancy’s Call of the Haskell," 19 July 2019 South Korea’s rancor relating to the occupation by Japan from 1910-1945, and wartime oppression that included forcing Koreans into prostitution and to work in factories in Japan, remains deep, and many feel Japan hasn’t atoned enough for the past. — Jane Li, Quartz, "Japan’s doing to Samsung what the US did to Huawei. But why?," 17 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'atone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for atone
atone
verb
English Language Learners Definition of atone
formal
: to do something good as a way to show that you are sorry about doing something bad
See the full definition for atone in the English Language Learners Dictionary
atone
verb
\ ə-ˈtōn
\
\
atoned;
atoning
Kids Definition of atone
: to do something to make up for a wrong
… her grandmother watched over her with untiring devotion, as if trying to atone for some past mistake …— Louisa May Alcott, Little Women