Thesaurus results for ATONE

atone

verb

Definition of atone

as in to apologize

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of atone Post-Zandvoort, Hamilton felt the need to atone for his team radio comments there. — Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 But then Godzilla re-emerged, and Kōichi resolved to die fighting the monster to atone for Odo Island. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026 Gray atoned with an RBI double in the fifth to break up Martin's shutout bid. — CBS News, 28 May 2026 Edmundson, who’d lost MacKinnon on his first goal, atoned by receiving Kempe’s pass in the high slot and flicking a shot that clipped Wedgewood on its way into the net. — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for atone

Recent Examples of Synonyms for atone

Verb

The broadcaster apologized over the editing, and the head of the BBC and its top news executive both resigned.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs apologized to his teammates, while also speaking with reporters for the first time since returning to the team after being removed from the commissionerâs exempt list last week.

— Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of apologize

Verb

Springsteen and Scott confessed during police questioning but recanted before trial, saying investigators pressured them into giving false statements.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Sophie confessed to being a bit conflicted about tobacco, a plant that has killed untold humans, but is also showing promise in vaccine production and other pharmaceutical research.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of confess

Verb

Or targeted other relatives to be hosts, with the precedent of your sister-in-law’s apparently being excused entirely on those grounds.

— Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 27 Oct. 2026
Look, saying a team should have played better doesn't excuse a questionable call that helps decide the game.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of excuse

Verb

Boutique brand Katikies has brought the success of its sister hotel in Oia, Santorini, to Mykonos, with a spacious, whitewashed sanctuary on the island’s southwest coast.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of whitewash

Verb

Between those grounds and the pool, there's enough here to justify leaving part of the day unscheduled.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026
In this case, the AI agent carried over an earlier instruction not to send any Slack messages to OpenAI’s team, using that to justify turning off the alerts.

— Emma Roth, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of justify

Verb

But acting on behalf of Iran, a non-Arab Persian country composed almost entirely of Twelver Shia Muslims, was considerably more difficult to rationalize in Arab Yemen where Twelver Shia Muslims are absent and Sunnis are the majority.

— Laurent Bonnefoy, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
Ahmed doesn’t merely document the decisions that led President Biden and his aides to arm and rationalize what leading human rights organizations and legal scholars now consider a genocide.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of rationalize

Browse Nearby Words

at once

atone

atoned

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“Atone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atone. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of atone

verb

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