Meaning & use
making amends
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Meanings
phraseidiom
Doing something to repair the harm or hurt you caused, usually after saying sorry.
Grammar: Amends is plural and has no singular article: make amends, not make an amend.
Patterns
- make amends for something
- make amends to someone
- make amends with someone
He spent the summer making amends for the mess he left at the party.
She is making amends to her sister after forgetting the wedding.
Making amends often means more than just saying you are sorry.
phraseidiom
Trying to restore a good relationship after a quarrel or mistake.
Grammar: Often followed by with and the other person: making amends with a neighbor.
Patterns
- make amends with someone
After the argument, they were making amends over a quiet dinner.
I am making amends with my old teacher by writing him a letter.
The company is making amends with its customers by offering free repairs.
Word forms
| base form | make amends |
|---|---|
| third person singular | makes amends |
| past tense | made amends |
| -ing form | making amends |
Common combinations
- try to make amends
- He tried to make amends by paying for the broken window.
- make amends for a mistake
- She wanted to make amends for her mistake at work.
- make amends to someone
- I must make amends to my parents for worrying them.
- desperate to make amends
- They were desperate to make amends after the quarrel.
- a way of making amends
- Baking a cake was her way of making amends.
Synonyms and how they differ
- atoning
- Atoning is more formal and often suggests serious wrongdoing, while making amends can be used for small mistakes.
- compensating
- Compensating usually involves paying or giving something back, whereas making amends can be an action or a gesture.
- reconciling
- Reconciling focuses on ending a conflict between two people, while making amends focuses on repairing the harm done.
- redeeming yourself
- Redeeming yourself is about restoring your own reputation, whereas making amends centers on the person you hurt.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: making amends or amendment?
making amends vs amendment
An amendment is a change to a text or law. Amends is the plural noun in make amends and has nothing to do with editing.
Practice
After missing his friend's birthday, Tom visited her with flowers, hoping to be ____.
Choose one answer.
Hoping to be making amends fits the pattern; amends has no article and makes this expression complete. Made amends is the wrong tense after be, and an amend is not used.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “making amends”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.