compensate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
compensates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
compensated,
past participle, past
-
compensating
present participle
-
to recompense for something.
They gave him ten dollars to compensate him for his trouble.
- Synonyms:
- pay, reward, remunerate
-
to counterbalance; offset; be equivalent to.
He compensated his homely appearance with great personal charm.
- Synonyms:
- countervail, counterpoise
-
Mechanics. to counterbalance (a force or the like); adjust or construct so as to offset or counterbalance variations or produce equilibrium.
-
to change the gold content of (a monetary unit) to counterbalance price fluctuations and thereby stabilize its purchasing power.
verb (used without object)
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compensates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
compensated,
past participle, past
-
compensating
present participle
-
to provide or be an equivalent; make up; make amends (usually followed byfor ).
His occasional courtesies did not compensate for his general rudeness.
- Synonyms:
- atone
-
Psychology. to develop or employ mechanisms of compensation.
verb
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to make amends to (someone), esp for loss or injury
-
(tr) to serve as compensation or damages for (injury, loss, etc)
-
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
-
(intr) to attempt to conceal or offset one's shortcomings by the exaggerated exhibition of qualities regarded as desirable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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compensatornoun
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precompensateverb (used with object)
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recompensateverb (used with object)
-
subcompensateverb (used with object)
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compensatoryadjective
-
noncompensatedadjective
-
noncompensatingadjective
-
uncompensatedadjective
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uncompensatingadjective
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well-compensatedadjective
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compensatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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compensatesimple
-
compensatessimple
-
have compensatedperfect
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has compensatedperfect
-
am compensatingprogressive
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are compensatingprogressive
-
is compensatingprogressive
-
have been compensatingperfect progressive
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has been compensatingperfect progressive
Past
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compensatedsimple
-
had compensatedperfect
-
was compensatingprogressive
-
were compensatingprogressive
-
had been compensatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of compensate
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
Explanation
Compensate is about correcting for an imbalance. If you step in an unmarked pothole, the city may compensate you by paying your doctor bills treating a broken ankle. Compensate can also mean "to adjust for." So, if you did stumble into the pothole and injure your left leg, then you might compensate by leaning heavily on your right leg. Increasingly, compensate is used in place of pay. Day laborers are paid for their time, but executives are more likely to be compensated with a suite that includes salary and other benefits––what is commonly referred to as a compensation package.
Vocabulary lists containing compensate
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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The Crucible
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I had hoped SOS would apologise and offer support, to compensate me for the harm they caused by separating me from my family," Omama Ghbeis said.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Just be prepared for the very real possibility that you will not earn enough to compensate you for the sleepless nights you may incur over the next 30 years.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The stakes are also high for President Xi Jinping, however, with China heavily reliant on exports in order to compensate for its wobbly domestic economy.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Banks now demand a higher yield premium on mortgage-backed securities to compensate for the risk that rates will rise and their value will decline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Slowly she resolved that someday she would find a way to compensate for the way the world had so far treated Joe Rantz.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
The question is whether the additional business compensates for the lower price and any extra infrastructure required.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Madueke goes into central midfield and Bellingham compensates by defending out wide.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
What it lacks in explosivity and pacing, “The Complex” at times compensates for in tension, tenderness and tenacity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
UBS reported outflows last quarter and said it was anticipating further disruption after changes to how it compensates its front-line financial advisers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Likewise, insurance policies with broad coverage which compensates for any mishap are apt to be cheaper in the long run than insurance for a particular disease or a particular trip.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
The Franco-German deal scraps the latter requirement stating that residual emissions should not have to be compensated by manufacturers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
“You’re not getting compensated in the classic sense for going out on the risk spectrum.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The Times asked the center’s attorney if Troupe was compensated for work outside of his board duties, but she did not respond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Done this way, the caregiver is compensated in real time, not retroactively, and the eventual estate can then be split evenly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
She had no lips at all and compensated this by stenciling on a large red, greasy mouth that now popped open in delight, now shut in sudden alarm.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
They are all issues World Athletics has sought to begin addressing with the biennial Ultimate Championship, while also compensating the athletes with record prize money.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
"The nervous system adopts a safety-first approach, compensating for age-related changes by favoring stability over performance," says Associate Professor Immink, Lead of the Active Lives Research Program within the Caring Futures Institute at Flinders University.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Many are already running at very high utilization rates to meet demand while compensating for disruptions in the Middle East and Russia, leaving little spare capacity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
It is compensating for the stagnant auto market by making power-chip solutions and optical cable for data centers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
And I felt that it was the fear of their enemies that made Communists—unconsciously compensating for their fear—fight one another so doggedly and persistently.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
