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Synonyms

compensation

American  
[kom-puhn-sey-shuhn] / ˌkɒm pənˈseɪ ʃən /

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 British  
/ 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

"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

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of compensation

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

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.

That is then weighed against the cost of a potential disaster—including compensation for families and reputational damage—and the lost revenue from canceling, Brito said.

From The Wall Street Journal

To some investors, software stocks may not be as inexpensive as they look when considering the murkiness of stock-based compensation — a heavy expense that gets stripped from many companies’ adjusted earnings metrics.

From MarketWatch

During the pandemic, Montoya used a workers’ compensation settlement from a prior work injury to take time off and study for his commercial driver’s license.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Due to current regulatory gaps, many financial professionals are free to offer biased or conflicted advice, putting commissions or other compensation above the investor’s best interests.”

From MarketWatch

It could also help Tesla make progress on its push to have more than 10 million active FSD subscribers, a requirement of Musk’s massive compensation package.

From MarketWatch