Atone

//əˈtoʊn// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make reparation, compensation, amends or satisfaction for an offence, crime, mistake or deficiency. ambitransitive

    "He tried to atone for his mistakes by working harder."

  2. 2
    turn away from sin or do penitence wordnet
  3. 3
    To bring at one or at concordance; to reconcile; to suffer appeasement. obsolete, transitive
  4. 4
    make amends for wordnet
  5. 5
    To agree or accord; to be in accordance or harmony. intransitive, obsolete
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    To unite in making. obsolete, transitive
  2. 7
    To absolve (someone else) of wrongdoing, especially by standing as an equivalent. proscribed

Synonyms

All synonyms
expiateexpiatepropitiaterepairabeggeabide

Example

More examples

"He committed suicide to atone for his sin."

Etymology

From atone (“reconciled”), from Middle English atone, attone, atoon (“agreed”, literally “at one”), equivalent to at + one. Compare Latin adūnō (“I unite, make one”) for the similar formation. Regarding the different phonological development of atone and one, see the note in one.

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Next best steps

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.