compensation

[kom-puhn-sey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or state of compensating, as by rewarding someone for service or by making up for someone's loss, damage, or injury by giving the injured party an appropriate benefit.

2. the state of being compensated or rewarded in this way.

3. something given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, loss, injury, suffering, lack, etc.; indemnity.

   The insurance company paid him $2000 as compensation for the loss of his car.

   Synonyms: indemnification, satisfaction, requital, reparation, amends, payment, recompense

4. Biology.,  the improvement of any defect by the excessive development or action of another structure or organ of the same structure.

5. Psychology.,  a mechanism by which an individual attempts to make up for some real or imagined deficiency of personality or behavior by developing or stressing another aspect of the personality or by substituting a different form of behavior.

compensation

/ ˌkɒmpɛnˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of making amends for something

2. something given as reparation for loss, injury, etc; indemnity

3. the automatic movements made by the body to maintain balance

4. the attempt to conceal or offset one's shortcomings by the exaggerated exhibition of qualities regarded as desirable

5. biology abnormal growth and increase in size in one organ in response to the removal or inactivation of another

Other Word Forms

• compensational adjective
• noncompensation noun
• precompensation noun
• procompensation adjective
• subcompensation noun
• subcompensational adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of compensation¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English compensacioun, from Latin compēnsātiōn-, stem of compēnsātiō “a balancing”; equivalent to compensate + -ion

Example Sentences

After the walkout, writers did secure groundbreaking protections for AI in contracts, but they are still confronting AI models ripping off their work without compensation.

From Los Angeles Times

Proposition 22 had language that explicitly barred drivers from collectively bargaining over their compensation, benefits and working conditions.

From Los Angeles Times

The new law exempts transportation incentives, such as rides to voting locations, or compensation provided by a government agency to vote.

From Los Angeles Times

“They are taking our professional members’ work that has been created, sometimes over generations, without permission, without compensation and without acknowledgment, building something new,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said in an interview.

From Los Angeles Times

If I were talking to a current working professional about AI, we would discuss its ethical and legal implications and what unions can do to protect worker rights and fight for fair compensation.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• allowance 
• benefit 
• bonus 
• coverage 
• earnings 
• fee 
• indemnity 
• pay 
• payment 
• payoff 
• premium 
• profit 
• redress 
• reimbursement 
• remittance 
• remuneration 
• reparation 
• restitution 
• reward 
• salary