Meaning & use
attoned
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“attoned” is a form of “atone”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbintransitive
made up for a wrong or a bad action by doing something good; showed you were sorry through your behavior
Grammar: No object. It is the past tense of atone, and it is usually followed by for: he attoned for his mistake.
Patterns
- atone for something
- atone for doing something
After the argument, she attoned by helping her brother with his work all weekend.
The company attoned for the pollution by paying to clean the river.
Word forms
| base form | atone |
|---|---|
| third person singular | atones |
| past tense | atoned |
| past participle | atoned |
| present participle | atoning |
Common combinations
- atone for a crime
- He tried to atone for a crime he committed as a young man.
- atone for past mistakes
- She sees her charity work as a way to atone for past mistakes.
- atone by doing something
- He attoned by returning the money he had taken.
Synonyms and how they differ
- make amends
- This is the everyday phrase for the same idea; atone sounds more formal and often has a moral or religious feel.
- compensate
- Compensate focuses on paying or giving something back; atone focuses on showing regret and trying to be good again.
Word family
- atonement noun
- The act of showing you are sorry and trying to make things right.
Commonly confused: attoned or atoned?
attoned vs atoned
This is the usual spelling with one t. 'Attoned' with two t's is a common misspelling.
Practice
He attoned ___ his rude behavior by apologizing to everyone.
Choose one answer.
Atone is followed by for when you name the wrong action: atone for something. 'Atone to' is not used this way, and 'with' and 'at' do not fit the pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “attoned”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.