amends

1. 1.

   a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury

   Synonymsdamagesindemnityindemnificationrestitutionredress

   Broadercompensation

   Narrowerreliefactual damagesnominal damagespunitive damagesatonement
2. 2.

   something done or paid in expiation of a wrong

   “how can I make amends”

   Synonymsreparation

   Broaderexpiation

Other forms of amends

plural

amendses·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about amends

What does amends mean?

amends means "a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in amends?

amends has 2 syllables: a-mends. The stress falls on "mends". In IPA it is /əˈmɛndz/.

What is another word for amends?

Close synonyms include damages, indemnity, indemnification, restitution, redress. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is amends a common word?

amends is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.