redress

[ noun ree-dres, ri-dres; verb ri-dres ]
See synonyms for: redressre-dressedre-dressesre-dressing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the setting right of what is wrong: redress of abuses.

  2. relief from wrong or injury.

  1. compensation or satisfaction for a wrong or injury.

verb (used with object)
  1. to set right; remedy or repair (wrongs, injuries, etc.).

  2. to correct or reform (abuses, evils, etc.).

  1. to remedy or relieve (suffering, want, etc.).

  2. to adjust evenly again, as a balance.

Origin of redress

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; (verb) Middle English redressen, from Middle French redresser,Old French redrecier, equivalent to re-re- + drecier “to straighten” (see dress); (noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French redresse, redresce, derivative of the verb

synonym study For redress

1. Redress, reparation, restitution suggest making amends or giving indemnification for a wrong. Redress may refer either to the act of setting right an unjust situation (as by some power), or to satisfaction sought or gained for a wrong suffered: the redress of grievances. Reparation means compensation or satisfaction for a wrong or loss inflicted. The word may have the moral idea of amends: to make reparation for one's neglect; but more frequently it refers to financial compensation (which is asked for, rather than given): the reparations demanded of the aggressor nations. Restitution means literally the restoration of what has been taken from the lawful owner: He demanded restitution of his land; it may also refer to restoring the equivalent of what has been taken: They made him restitution for his land.

Other words for redress

Other words from redress

  • re·dress·a·ble, re·dress·i·ble, adjective
  • re·dress·er, re·dres·sor, noun
  • un·re·dress·a·ble, adjective

Words that may be confused with redress

  • re-dress, redress (see synonym study at the current entry)

Other definitions for re-dress (2 of 2)

re-dress
[ ree-dres ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to dress again.

Origin of re-dress

2
First recorded in 1730–40; re- + dress

Words that may be confused with re-dress

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use redress in a sentence

  • Bry has said her business background would have led her to sniff out the bad lease – which kept the city from seeking redress when the building turned out to need serious renovations.

  • Grievances cannot be redressed unless they are known; and they cannot be known but through complaints and petitions.

  • Therefore I redressed and sat with the light still out, gazing across the starlit bay.

    The Czar's Spy | William Le Queux
  • A short, sharp curve in the middle of that iron fire-poker is eloquent of a wrong redressed.

  • Then with the quiet dignity of one who has redressed a grievous wrong, surrendered himself unto the law this worthy old man.

British Dictionary definitions for redress (1 of 2)

redress

/ (rɪˈdrɛs) /


verb(tr)
  1. to put right (a wrong), esp by compensation; make reparation for: to redress a grievance

  2. to correct or adjust (esp in the phrase redress the balance)

  1. to make compensation to (a person) for a wrong

noun
  1. the act or an instance of setting right a wrong; remedy or cure: to seek redress of grievances

  2. compensation, amends, or reparation for a wrong, injury, etc

  1. relief from poverty or want

Origin of redress

1
C14: from Old French redrecier to set up again, from re- + drecier to straighten; see dress

Derived forms of redress

  • redressable or redressible, adjective
  • redresser or rare redressor, noun

British Dictionary definitions for re-dress (2 of 2)

re-dress

/ (riːˈdrɛs) /


verb
  1. (tr) to dress (something) again

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012