atone
/əˈtoʊn/verb
atone is spelled A-T-O-N-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, atone means “To make reparation, compensation, amends or satisfaction for an offence, crime, mistake or deficiency” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in atone?
| Letters | 5: A-T-O-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is atone?
Atone appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce atone?
- UK /əˈtəʊn/
- US /əˈtoʊn/
- US [əˈtʰoʊ̯n]
Atone has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-atone.ogg, En-au-atone.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with atone
Also written: at one (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with atone?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as atone from its last stressed vowel (/oʊn/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: neato, oaten.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of atone
- atones present, singular, he/she/it
- atoning participle, present
- atoned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does atone mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make reparation, compensation, amends or satisfaction for an offence, crime, mistake or deficiency.
He tried to atone for his mistakes by working harder.
- 2
obsoleteTo bring at one or at concordance; to reconcile; to suffer appeasement.
- 3
obsoleteTo agree or accord; to be in accordance or harmony.
- 4
obsoleteTo unite in making.
- 5
proscribedTo absolve (someone else) of wrongdoing, especially by standing as an equivalent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Atone in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to make reparation, compensation, or amends, for an offence or a crime:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | expier |
| German | wiedergutmachen, kompensieren, gutmachen, Ersatz leisten, büßen, sühnen |
| Portuguese | redimir |
| Spanish | expiar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does atone come from?
From atone (“reconciled”), from Middle English atone, attone, atoon (“agreed”, literally “at one”), equivalent to at + one. Compare Latin adūnō (“to unite, make one”) for the similar formation. Regarding the different phonological development of atone and one, see the note in one.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).