atone

verb

Definition of atonenext
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
  1. apologize
  2. confess
  3. palliate
  4. excuse
  5. whitewash
  6. justify
  7. rationalize
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
  • After detectives confronted her with information from Hanfield, Arstil confessed that the two women were at the apartment complex that night looking to rob someone.
    — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Disarmed by his stepson’s surprise appearance, Morgan confesses to being the cheater.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of confess
Verb
  • Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.
    — Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 1 Oct. 2024
  • Senior-home avatars who are designed to palliate dementia patients in their darkest days.
    — Longreads, Longreads, 12 Apr. 2024
Definition of palliate
Verb
  • 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
  • But the series’ choice to humanize the villain without excusing her actions was intentional, Thornton explains.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 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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Cite this Entry

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

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