atoning (for)

verb

present participle of atone (for)
as in making amends for
to make up for (an offense) tried to atone for forgetting their anniversary by giving his wife a truly extravagant gift

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for atoning (for)
  1. compensating
  2. redeeming
  3. repaying
  4. correcting
Verb
  • The European Commission is also running an antitrust probe to determine if Google is fairly compensating publishers for using their content in AI answers.
    — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026
  • But increasingly, given the cost of not only managing grizzlies but compensating ranchers for livestock loss, the discussion has turned to budgets.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of compensating
Verb
  • Despite these issues, salty whey still has one redeeming quality.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Oct. 2026
  • One thing regulators are not going to do is kill the idea of exchanging securities for shares, because all the big ETFs rely on redeeming and creating units that aren’t taxable as part of their daily operations.
    — Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of redeeming
Verb
  • After Newsom’s parents filed for divorce in 1971, Newsom was unofficially adopted by Gordon, repaying the favor the Newsoms had extended decades earlier.
    — Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The state is currently repaying more than $71 billion in general obligation bonds.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of repaying
Verb
  • After a few months, Fei and Wang identified a promising new approach to building error-correcting codes.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The ultimate pièce de résistance, however, is its green, redness-correcting tint.
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of correcting
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.

Browse Nearby Words

atoning
atoning (for)
atop
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Atoning (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atoning%20%28for%29. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All