If you do something as an atonement for doing something wrong, you do it to show that you are sorry.
例句
He's living in a monastery in a gesture of atonement for human rights abuses committed under his leadership...為了彌補自己當權時對人權的踐踏，他以出家來謝罪。True guilt is characterized by a readiness to make atonement for having done wrong.真正的內疚表現為愿意彌補所犯的過錯。
英漢詞典釋義
n.
彌補,補償；贖罪
an atonement ceremony贖罪的儀式
英英詞典釋義
Noun
1. compensation for a wrong;
"we were unable to get satisfaction from the local store"
2. the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing (especially appeasing a deity)