atone

/əˈtəʊn/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈtəʊn/ (ame, ipa)

atone — verb

  • atonepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • atoneshe / she / it
  • atonedpast simple
  • atoning-ing form

1. to do something good or helpful because you feel sorry for the harm or trouble y

1.動詞不及物C1
釋義

to do something good or helpful because you feel sorry for the harm or trouble you caused in the past

例句

Isabella tried to atone for her harsh words by baking her grandmother's favourite cake.

atone for her harsh words

The factory donated money to local schools to atone for the pollution it had released.

atone for the pollution

同義詞
  • make up for

    more common in everyday speech; less formal than atone

  • redeem

    stronger moral or religious tone; can imply being saved from sin

  • expiate

    very formal and literary; almost exclusively used for serious moral wrongs

反義詞
  • offend

    to cause the harm that atonement seeks to repair

  • wrong

    to treat someone badly, the opposite of making amends

文法句型

atone + for + noun phrase

用法筆記

Frequently used with for followed by the specific wrong or harm being made up for. The subject is either a person or an institution (company, government, organisation).

常見錯誤

❌He atoned the mistake.
✅He atoned for the mistake.
💡atone is always intransitive and requires 'for' before the thing being made up for.
❌She atoned with her mother.
✅She atoned for hurting her mother.
💡atone requires stating what wrong is being amended, not just who the person is.