recompense

American  

[rek-uhm-pens] / ˈrɛk əmˌpɛns /

verb (used with object)

recompenses, present (3rd person singular) recompensed, past participle, past recompensing present participle

1. to repay; remunerate; reward, as for service, aid, etc.

   Synonyms:

   recoup, reimburse

2. to pay or give compensation for; make restitution or requital for (damage, injury, or the like).

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verb (used without object)

recompenses, present (3rd person singular) recompensed, past participle, past recompensing present participle

1. to make compensation for something; repay someone.

   no attempt to recompense for our trouble.

noun

1. compensation, as for an injury, wrong, etc..

   to make recompense for the loss one's carelessness has caused.

   Synonyms:

   satisfaction, indemnification, amends, payment

2. a repayment or requital, as for favors, gifts, etc.

3. a remuneration or reward, as for services, aid, or the like.

recompense British  

/ ˈrɛkəmˌpɛns /

verb

1. (tr) to pay or reward for service, work, etc

2. (tr) to compensate for loss, injury, etc

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noun

1. compensation for loss, injury, etc

   to make recompense

2. reward, remuneration, or repayment

Synonym Usage

See reward.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recompenser
  noun
• recompensable
  adjective
• unrecompensable
  adjective
• unrecompensed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• recompensing
  present
• recompensed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• recompense
  simple
• recompenses
  simple
• have recompensed
  perfect
• has recompensed
  perfect
• are recompensing
  progressive
• am recompensing
  progressive
• is recompensing
  progressive
• have been recompensing
  perfect progressive
• has been recompensing
  perfect progressive

Past

• recompensed
  simple
• had recompensed
  perfect
• was recompensing
  progressive
• were recompensing
  progressive
• had been recompensing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will recompense
  simple
• will have recompensed
  perfect
• will be recompensing
  progressive
• will have been recompensing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of recompense

1375–1425; (v.) late Middle English < Middle French recompenser < Late Latin recompēnsāre, equivalent to Latin re- re- + compēnsāre ( see compensate); (noun) late Middle English < Middle French, derivative of recompenser

Explanation

Say you loan a few bucks to a friend who is short on cash, and he wins the lottery. Presumably, he'll be able to recompense you, or pay you back what he owes. If you look closely at recompense, you'll see how similar it is to compensate, which means to make amends for something or to pay. Add the prefix re-, which suggests returning or repeating, and you get the meaning of recompense — paying back or reimbursing financially or otherwise. Recompense is most often used as a verb, but it works as a noun, too. In recompense for throwing peas and screaming, a mother might send a toddler to her room for a time-out.

Example Sentences

Recompense, rek′om-pens, v.t. to return an equivalent for anything: to repay or requite: to reward: to compensate: to remunerate.—n. that which is returned as an equivalent: repayment: reward: compensation: remuneration.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

By Grace Aguilar, author of "Home Influence," "Mother's Recompense," etc.

From The Roman Traitor, Vol. 2 by Herbert, Henry William

There was only one window, but the door was opposite, and a door that opened into the room of Miss Recompense.

From A Little Girl in Old Boston by Douglas, Amanda Minnie

There was something about the little girl—perhaps it was the fact of her having come so far, and being an orphan—that moved Recompense Gardiner.

From A Little Girl in Old Boston by Douglas, Amanda Minnie

Miss Recompense had hurried and donned a gingham gown and a fresh cap.

From A Little Girl in Old Boston by Douglas, Amanda Minnie