compensate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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Mechanics. to counterbalance (a force or the like); adjust or construct so as to offset or counterbalance variations or produce equilibrium.
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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
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Psychology. to develop or employ mechanisms of compensation.
verb
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to make amends to (someone), esp for loss or injury
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(tr) to serve as compensation or damages for (injury, loss, etc)
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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)
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subcompensateverb (used with object)
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compensatoryadjective
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noncompensatedadjective
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noncompensatingadjective
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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
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compensatessimple
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have compensatedperfect
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has compensatedperfect
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am compensatingprogressive
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are compensatingprogressive
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is compensatingprogressive
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have been compensatingperfect progressive
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has been compensatingperfect progressive
Past
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compensatedsimple
-
had compensatedperfect
-
was compensatingprogressive
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were compensatingprogressive
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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:
If the market starts to worry about U.S. debt levels and pushes up the rate of interest on Treasury bonds to compensate, this in turn pushes up the rates of return demanded by everything else.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
If the CMA concludes that the firms have broken the law, it can fine them or order them to compensate customers.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Instead of simply eating more pollen to compensate for missing nutrients, bees may reduce their intake when another nutrient becomes excessive.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
And, of course, as we age, our balance becomes compromised — we’re less able to compensate for vestibular system weaknesses as our vision declines and our sense of touch deteriorates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
“But should you have ventures planned with Aaron Fischman, my associate will compensate you for any loss.”
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
His payment of $74,330 will go into the Lacey Act Reward Fund, which compensates tipsters who report wildlife crimes, federal authorities said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026
They recruit a bass player named Bill Perks, who compensates for his lack of blues knowledge by bringing along an enormous amplifier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
MPs heard the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, which compensates some victims, was "broken".
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
In other words, when incoming visual signals are reduced, the brain compensates by pulling stored images and experiences from memory.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2026
She compensates with mascara and turquoise eye shadow, so that her eyes look a bit like two peacock feathers.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Murrill’s opposition doesn’t necessarily mean that Brooks and other exonerees won’t eventually be compensated.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
The attacks cost him about $20,000, and Wildberries hasn’t compensated him, he said in an interview, adding that it had granted a three-month deferment on loan payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“Uncertainties are piling up,” he noted, and the bond market expects to get compensated for it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 26, 2026
The question over whether Jingye should be compensated for the nationalisation based on the value of the company will be determined by an independent assessor, Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
To Madison, the only viable plan was gradual, compensated emancipation.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
"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
“Creators make their living generating content. The campaign believes in compensating people for their time and work product and has paid creators to generate content,” Liao said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
A monetary framework that lets falling production costs show up as lower prices for consumers, rather than offsetting them with compensating stimulus, has intellectual support and is worth discussing.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
