Atonement

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈtoʊnmənt/

Definitions

1. the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing, or in religious contexts, reconciliation with a divine being through sacrifice or expiation
2. The process of addressing a wrongdoing through sincere remorse, often involving an effort to restore harmony, forgiveness, or reconciliation with a higher power
3. The endeavor to rectify a mistake or sin often entails expressing regret while seeking forgiveness from both affected parties and a divine entity

Etymology: The word looks like it should be built from "atone" plus the suffix "-ment," but its real ancestry runs the other way round. The noun is older than the verb: "onement" appears in English as a noun meaning reconciliation or unity, formed from "at" and "one," as in bringing people "at one" with each other. The verb "atone" came later, and the modern sense of paying back for a wrong grew out of that idea of setting things right between people. Some dictionaries once proposed that "atonement" translated the Medieval Latin "adūnāmentum," meaning a making into one, but the noun's earlier appearance undermines that explanation. The fuller picture is that the noun was already in use when the verb caught up with it.

Synonyms: reparation, amends, expiation, redemption, penance

Antonyms: sin, wrongdoing, offense, crime, transgression