atonement
/əˈtoʊnmənt/noun
atonement is spelled A-T-O-N-E-M-E-N-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, atonement means “Making amends to restore a damaged relationship; expiation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of atonement is atonements.
How many letters and syllables are in atonement?
| Letters | 9: A-T-O-N-E-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is atonement?
Atonement appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st 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 atonement?
- /əˈtoʊnmənt/
Atonement has 3 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-atonement.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of atonement
- atonements plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does atonement mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Making amends to restore a damaged relationship; expiation.
- 2
The reconciliation of God and mankind through the death of Jesus.
- 3
archaicReconciliation; restoration of friendly relations; concord.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Atonement in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | propitiation , expiation, réparation, réconciliation |
| German | Wiedergutmachung, Sühneleistung, Sühne, Sühneopfer, Versöhnung, Ersatz |
| Portuguese | reconciliação , expiação |
| Spanish | desagravio , expiación |
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 atonement come from?
Perhaps from atone + -ment as translation of Medieval Latin adūnāmentum; however, the noun is found earlier than the verb (atone); and in this light, the proper etymology is at + onement.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).