Meaning & use
made amends
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“made amends” is a form of “make amends”.
Meaning
phraseidiom
Did something to show you are sorry for a wrong or harm you caused, often by apologizing or making things right.
Grammar: The phrase is made amends; it is not used with an object directly. Say made amends for something or made amends to someone.
Patterns
- made amends for something
- made amends to someone
- tried to make amends
After the argument, he made amends by helping her finish the project.
She made amends to her brother for losing his book.
The company made amends for the delay by offering a full refund.
Word forms
| base form | make amends |
|---|---|
| third person singular | makes amends |
| past tense | made amends |
| past participle | made amends |
| -ing form | making amends |
Common combinations
- make amends for
- He wanted to make amends for his rude comment.
- make amends to
- You should make amends to the people you hurt.
- try to make amends
- She tried to make amends, but he was still upset.
- make amends by doing something
- They made amends by cleaning up the park.
Synonyms and how they differ
- apologize
- Apologize means simply saying sorry; make amends often includes doing something to repair the harm.
- atone
- Atone is more formal and suggests a serious or religious act of making up for a wrong.
- compensate
- Compensate often means paying money or giving something to balance a loss, while make amends can be emotional or social.
Opposites
Commonly confused: made amends or amend?
made amends vs amend
Amend means to change or improve a text or law; make amends means to repair a relationship or wrong.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is make amends for something. 'To' is used for the person (make amends to someone), and 'on' does not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “made amends”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.