Synonyms

atone

American

[uh-tohn] / əˈtoʊn /

verb (used without object)

to make amends or reparation, as for an offense or a crime, or for an offender (usually followed byfor ).

to atone for one's sins.
to make up, as for errors or deficiencies (usually followed byfor ).

to atone for one's failings.
Obsolete. to become reconciled; agree.

verb (used with object)

to make amends for; expiate.

He atoned his sins.
Obsolete. to bring into unity, harmony, concord, etc.

atone British

/ əˈtəʊn /

verb

to make amends or reparation (for a crime, sin, etc)
(tr) to expiate

to atone a guilt with repentance
obsolete to be in or bring into agreement

"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

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Etymology

Origin of atone

First recorded in 1545–55; back formation from atonement

Explanation

To atone is to do something "right" to make up for doing something wrong. Religious believers are known to atone for their sins, but even students can atone for a past failure by acing a quiz or two. The word atone came to English as a contraction of the words at and one. The verb means to make amends or reparations for an offense or wrong doing. You can remember the meaning by thinking of it as a sort of Zen concept, to be "at one" or in harmony with someone, you have to atone for your mistakes and be forgiven. In a religious sense, it means to repent for sins ("to atone for his sins").

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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.

This victory will not fully atone for his infamous meltdown after missing the halfway cut at Oakmont a year ago.

From BBC • Jun. 21, 2026

The party certainly has past sins to atone for: D.C. in fact passed a bill to jump the line in 2004 to draw attention to its lack of voting representation in Congress.

From Slate • May 26, 2026

AFP journalists saw devotees deliberately puncturing their skin with glass shards attached to a small wooden paddle to ensure their bleeding during the ritual, a way to atone for sins and seek miracles from God.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Early Christians were acutely aware that they were sinners, that they would be judged in death for what they had done in life, that they needed to atone and seek God’s forgiveness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

After everything she had done to atone for her crime, after she had turned her marriage into an arctic wasteland and allowed a surgeon to tie her fallopian tubes, consanguinity wasn’t finished with her.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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