Meaning of atonement in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /əˈtoʊnmənt/

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  1. Noun

    atonement

    Etymology

    early 16th century (denoting unity or reconciliation, especially between God and man): from at one+ -ment, influenced by medieval Latin adunamentum‘unity’, and earlier onement from an obsolete verb one ‘to unite’

    Definitions

    1. compensation for a wrong

    Examples

    • « we were unable to get satisfaction from the local store »

    Derived terms

  2. 2. the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing (especially appeasing a deity)

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness it is the one crime in which society has a direct interest. »
    W. H. Auden
  • « If the history of the Day of Atonement has anything to say to us now it is: never relieve individuals of moral responsibility. The more we have, the more we grow. »
    Jonathan Sacks
  • « Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holy of holies of Jewish time. It is that rarest of phenomena, a Jewish festival without food. Instead it is a day of fasting and prayer, introspection and self-judgment when, collectively and repeatedly, we confess our sins and pray to be written into God's Book of Life. »
    Jonathan Sacks
  • « On the Day of Atonement, Jews are commanded to seek forgiveness from the people we have hurt. »
    Laura Schlessinger
  • « My mother was a modern woman with a limited interest in religion. When the sun set and the fast of the Day of Atonement ended, she shot from the synagogue like a rocket to dance the Charleston. »
    Lionel Blue

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