How to Use atonement in a Sentence

atonement

noun
  • But his atonement comes too late.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 1 June 2026
  • And then came his coup de grace, an atonement for the past two weeks.
    — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 12 Feb. 2020
  • The good news for Randle is there is a chance for atonement.
    — Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 9 May 2026
  • That’s a part of the atonement, paying the toll and coming clean.
    — Joe Lynch, Billboard, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Brown would have her first chance for atonement leading off the bottom of the third.
    — Tony Baranek, Daily Southtown, 5 June 2017
  • For starters, there is one urgent mission the pope must take on the road to atonement.
    — Laura Washington, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
  • But the path to atonement is racial unity, not more division.
    — Sahil Handa, National Review, 13 June 2019
  • Evan’s dodgy act of atonement builds up his own social capital.
    — Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, 22 Sep. 2021
  • With that apology must come atonement.
    — Laura Washington, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
  • But Halperin has yet to undertake any sort of atonement for his misdeeds.
    — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 19 Aug. 2019
  • The story of the drum, of Jim and Joe, are not stories of atonement.
    — New York Times, 31 Aug. 2021
  • On Yom Kippur, one completes atonement for the wrongs of the past year.
    — Ben Beezy, latimes.com, 29 Sep. 2017
  • Blessings to all during the observance of this holy day of atonement.
    — Brenda Yenke, cleveland, 24 Sep. 2020
  • Witherspoon was due for atonement.
    — Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Her attendance is part of her atonement to Gary, who wants to meet the tourists his girlfriend hooked up with.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Instead the money should be used for helping people as atonement for all the lives that were taken.
    — courant.com, 5 Mar. 2021
  • Francis didn’t believe that blood atonement was required for God to love or forgive us.
    — baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 23 Apr. 2021
  • Eight years later, as a further act of atonement, Goldsmith began work on this book.
    — David J. Garrow, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2019
  • At the same time, Germany’s process of atonement for its war crimes is widely recognized.
    — Jasper Bastian, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Sep. 2020
  • Others across the industry have echoed those points, with varying degrees of atonement.
    — Catherine Thorbecke, CNN, 9 Jan. 2023
  • So was his effort, in part, a gesture of atonement for the failings of his predecessors?
    — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2021
  • But even within the seminary, the atonement program drew some pushback.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2021
  • China seems ready to accept Lithuania’s atonement.
    — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2026
  • But can there be too much contrition from those who were complicit with the Nazis, and is there such a thing as too much atonement?
    — Martin Filler, The New York Review of Books, 1 July 2021
  • In the interview, the designer spoke frankly about his demons, and his recovery and atonement.
    — Miles Socha, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024
  • 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
  • With the game still tied midway through the third, McKenzie had his chance at atonement and didn’t disappoint.
    — Jake Levin, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Feb. 2020
  • Germany’s atonement after the Holocaust shows a path – albeit a bumpy one – forward.
    — Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2024
  • The one-term president described his decision as a form of atonement for his sins and, like Adams, swore in on a book of laws.
    — Nicholas Rowan, Washington Examiner, 19 Jan. 2021
  • The morning after Bull and Isaac tussled over the church food, Bull slept through his chance at atonement.
    — J. M. Holmes, The New Yorker, 10 May 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'atonement.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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