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Synonyms

amends

American  
[uh-mendz] / əˈmɛndz /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

  1. reparation or compensation for a loss, damage, or injury of any kind; recompense.

    Synonyms:
    restitution, redress

  2. Obsolete. improvement; recovery, as of health.

idioms

  1. make amends, to compensate, as for an injury, loss, or insult.

    I tried to make amends for the misunderstanding by sending her flowers.
amends British  
/ əˈmɛndz /

noun

  1. (functioning as singular) recompense or compensation given or gained for some injury, insult, etc

    to make amends
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
amends More Idioms  

  1. see make amends.

Etymology

Origin of amends

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English amendes, from Middle French, plural of amende “reparation,” noun derivative of amender “to repair, correct errors in, improve the condition of”; amend

Explanation

So you blew the surprise party by mentioning it in passing to the birthday girl. Now, you have to do something to make amends, or reparations, to the boyfriend who worked all day to set up the party. When you make amends, you mend something you have damaged, like a deal, or relationship. Maybe, your cupcake shop was panned by a food critic in the paper, but he never went to your store, he went to that awful cupcake shop across the street. The critic should make amends by printing a retraction.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Leinster responded well as van der Flier made amends for his failure to ground the ball 15 minutes earlier as he scored following a tap and go from Sheehan.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Now she’s trying to make amends, including paying more than $6.6 million in restitution and forfeiture.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

On Sunday, Rheinmetall tagged Kamyshin in a post on its own X account in which it sought to make amends.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Those that do so, he said in an interview, could expect his help to “make amends with the federal government and us.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

I have to make amends for being insufficient.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.