compensate

[ kom-puhn-seyt ]

verb (used with object)

, com·pen·sat·ed, com·pen·sat·ing.

1. to recompense for something:

   They gave him ten dollars to compensate him for his trouble.

   Synonyms: pay, reward, remunerate

2. to counterbalance; offset; be equivalent to:

   He compensated his homely appearance with great personal charm.

   Synonyms: countervail, counterpoise

3. Mechanics. to counterbalance (a force or the like); adjust or construct so as to offset or counterbalance variations or produce equilibrium.
4. to change the gold content of (a monetary unit) to counterbalance price fluctuations and thereby stabilize its purchasing power.

verb (used without object)

, com·pen·sat·ed, com·pen·sat·ing.

1. to provide or be an equivalent; make up; make amends (usually followed by for ):

   His occasional courtesies did not compensate for his general rudeness.

   Synonyms: atone

2. Psychology. to develop or employ mechanisms of compensation.

compensate

/ kəmˈpɛnsətərɪ; -trɪ; ˈkɒmpɛnˌseɪt; ˈkɒmpɛnˌseɪtɪv; kəmˈpɛnsə-; ˈkɒmpɛnˌseɪtərɪ /

verb

1. to make amends to (someone), esp for loss or injury
2. tr to serve as compensation or damages for (injury, loss, etc)
3. to offset or counterbalance the effects of (a force, weight, movement, etc) so as to nullify the effects of an undesirable influence and produce equilibrium
4. intr to attempt to conceal or offset one's shortcomings by the exaggerated exhibition of qualities regarded as desirable

Derived Forms

• compensatory, adjective
• ˈcompenˌsator, noun

Other Words From

• compen·sating·ly adverb
• compen·sator noun
• non·compen·sated adjective
• non·compen·sating adjective
• pre·compen·sate verb (used with object) precompensated precompensating
• re·compen·sate verb (used with object) recompensated recompensating
• sub·compen·sate verb (used with object) subcompensated subcompensating
• un·compen·sated adjective
• un·compen·sating adjective
• well-compen·sated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of compensate¹

First recorded in 1640–50, compensate is from the Latin word compēnsātus (past participle of compēnsāre to counterbalance, originally, to weigh together). See com-, pensive, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of compensate¹

C17: from Latin compēnsāre, from pensāre, from pendere to weigh

Example Sentences

Qiu, the lead author, says that with the team's new approach, "we can harness the resource complementarity, which means that renewable resources of different types, such as wind and solar, or different locations can compensate for each other in time and space. This potential for spatial complementarity to improve system design has not been emphasized and quantified in existing large-scale planning."

From Science Daily

In May, Vermont became the first state to require oil companies to compensate the public for damages caused by climate change.

From Salon

Holyrood ministers say Scotland, which has a proportionally larger public sector than the UK as a whole, needs more than £500m to compensate for increased public sector staffing costs.

From BBC

She also said she would not "settle" for a reported £300m compensation package from the UK government to compensate for a rise in employers' National Insurance payments.

From BBC

"The court orders the Belgian State to compensate the appellants for the moral damage resulting from the loss of their connection to their mother and the damage to their identity and their connection to their original environment," the judges said.

From BBC

Related Words

• atone
• pay
• recoup
• refund
• reimburse
• repay
• reward
• satisfy
• take care of