make amends:赔礼道歉并作出补偿/弥补过错,以修复关系或纠正造成的伤害。(常用于较正式或书面语境;也可泛指“补偿、补救”。)
/ˌmeɪk əˈmɛndz/
I need to make amends for what I said.
我需要为我说的话道歉并作出弥补。
After years of silence, he wrote a letter to make amends with his former friend and to acknowledge the harm he had caused.
沉默多年后,他写信向昔日好友赔罪求和,并承认自己造成的伤害,以此弥补过错。
amends 源自古法语 amendes,与“罚金、赔偿、补偿”相关;更早可追溯到拉丁语 emendāre(意为“纠正、修补错误”,也是 amend 的词源)。短语 make amends 字面是“做出补偿/赔偿”,引申为“通过道歉与补救来修复关系、弥补过失”。