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Synonyms

make amends

Idioms  

  1. Compensate someone for a grievance or injury, as in They must make amends for the harm they've caused you. This expression was first recorded in 1330.

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.

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

He apologized at a New Hampshire synagogue, and ahead of a second presidential bid four years later, he worked to make amends with the Jewish community.

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026

No promise of anything, especially Townsend's vow to make amends in the Calcutta Cup.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026

Slot is keen to make amends for his side's 3-0 defeat to City in November.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

‘But now I’ve come back, I’ll do my best to make amends.’

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

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.