make amends

Idioms and Phrases

Compensate someone for a grievance or injury, as in They must make amends for the harm they've caused you . This expression was first recorded in 1330.

Example Sentences

The singer-poet, promoting a new album with 33-year-old son Art Garfunkel Jr., also revealed that he and Simon will reconnect again and that their lunch meeting “was about wanting to make amends before it’s too late.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I'm going to go somewhere and return to whatever the self is I can recognize,” which is why she originally says, “Hey, I'm leaving. I'm going to Tarpon Springs. Let me go around and make amends to all the folks in my life and tell them I'm out of here. Let me sign these divorce papers. Let me tell my daughter I'm leaving.”

From Salon

Reparations are measures to make amends for past actions deemed wrong or unfair.

From BBC

Meanwhile, Tara, trying to make amends for the inadequate parenting of her only child, fears that Roman is depressed.

From Los Angeles Times

The district’s favored approach to student discipline involves supporting positive behavior and “restorative practices,” through which students take responsibility for their actions and learn how to make amends.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amend
• improve
• rebuild
• rehabilitate
• remake
• renovate
• reorganize
• repair
• resolve
• restore
• revise
• revolutionize
• standardize
• transform