Meaning & use
make amends for
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Meaning
phraseintransitive
to do something to show you are sorry for a wrong you have done or harm you have caused
Grammar: Followed by 'for' and the wrong or harm: make amends for your mistakes.
Patterns
- make amends for something
- make amends to someone
He tried to make amends for his rude behavior by apologizing.
The company made amends for the delay by offering a discount.
She wanted to make amends for the years she had been absent.
Common combinations
- make amends for a mistake
- He made amends for his mistake by working extra hours.
- make amends to someone
- She made amends to her friend for forgetting her birthday.
- try to make amends
- He tried to make amends for his past actions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compensate
- Compensate means to pay or give something to make up for a loss; make amends is more about apologizing and repairing a relationship.
- atone
- Atone is a formal, often religious word meaning to make amends for a sin; make amends is more general and can be used in everyday contexts.
Commonly confused: make amends for or make amends?
make amends for vs make amends
This is the same phrase but without 'for'. You can say 'make amends' alone, but 'make amends for' is used when you mention the specific wrong.
Practice
After the argument, he bought her flowers to ___ his harsh words.
Choose one answer.
'Make amends for' is used with the wrong or harm. 'Make amends to' is used with the person you apologize to, so it would be 'make amends to her', not 'for his words'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “make amends for”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.