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 And that is something that needs to be redeemed and addressed and atoned for. — Lindsay Kimble, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026 Husayn’s Kufan supporters acknowledged their failure to aid the imam and pledged to publicly atone. — Mary Thurlkill, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026 For decades after the war, Germany’s attempts to atone for that history through a deep commitment to pacifism obliged defense companies to keep a low profile, avoiding sponsorships and splashy ad campaigns. — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026 And Germany specifically has rather strict speech laws that strongly limit criticism of Israel, part of Germany’s attempts to atone for its central role in the Holocaust. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 26 Feb. 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
  • Police in Australia have apologized after the family of an 18-year-old hiker missing in dense bushland for eight days was mistakenly informed that she had been found alive.
    — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Associated Press photo The pressure on Tam mounted Tam said the man apologized twice on July 9, in a note and during a phone call.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of apologize
Verb
  • In another interview in 2009 with Las Vegas detectives, Davis allegedly confessed to his involvement in the shooting again.
    — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026
  • After posting a video earlier this week asking if anyone else couldn’t stop purchasing diamonds via TikTok, his comment section quickly flooded with more than a thousand replies from people across the country, all confessing their little secret.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 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
  • Proprietary or uninterpretable systems do not excuse the obligation.
    — TerDawn DeBoe, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Any person who celebrates, encourages, or excuses actions like these is fundamentally wrong.
    — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of excuse
Verb
  • Japan’s Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum has been accused of whitewashing the country’s wartime past.
    — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Critics have warned that the new panels replacing the ones exhibited since 2010 whitewash the history of slavery.
    — Corey Williams, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of whitewash
Verb
  • Longer commutes, hills, uneven neighborhood streets, and weekend detours all make a stronger all-around bike easier to justify.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Throughout the film, the corporation constantly looks for ways to justify not making changes.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of justify
Verb
  • The offense was bad Saturday, and there’s no spin or rationalizing the performance.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Jones’s ever more abusive and erratic behavior was ignored or rationalized by people who should have looked harder.
    — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 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 22 Aug. 2026.

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