redress
Americannoun
-
the setting right of what is wrong.
redress of abuses.
- Synonyms:
- atonement, remedy, restoration
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relief from wrong or injury.
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compensation or satisfaction for a wrong or injury.
verb (used with object)
-
redresses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
redressed,
past participle, past
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redressing
present participle
verb
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to put right (a wrong), esp by compensation; make reparation for
to redress a grievance
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to correct or adjust (esp in the phrase redress the balance )
-
to make compensation to (a person) for a wrong
noun
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the act or an instance of setting right a wrong; remedy or cure
to seek redress of grievances
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compensation, amends, or reparation for a wrong, injury, etc
-
relief from poverty or want
Synonym Usage
Redress, reparation, restitution suggest making amends or giving indemnification for a wrong. Redress may refer either to the act of setting right an unjust situation (as by some power), or to satisfaction sought or gained for a wrong suffered: the redress of grievances. Reparation means compensation or satisfaction for a wrong or loss inflicted. The word may have the moral idea of amends: to make reparation for one's neglect; but more frequently it refers to financial compensation (which is asked for, rather than given): the reparations demanded of the aggressor nations. Restitution means literally the restoration of what has been taken from the lawful owner: He demanded restitution of his land; it may also refer to restoring the equivalent of what has been taken: They made him restitution for his land.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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redresssimple
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redressessimple
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have redressedperfect
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has redressedperfect
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am redressingprogressive
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are redressingprogressive
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is redressingprogressive
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have been redressingperfect progressive
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has been redressingperfect progressive
Past
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redressedsimple
-
had redressedperfect
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was redressingprogressive
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were redressingprogressive
-
had been redressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of redress
First recorded in 1275–1325; (verb) Middle English redressen, from Middle French redresser, Old French redrecier, equivalent to re- re- + drecier “to straighten” ( see dress); (noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French redresse, redresce, derivative of the verb
Explanation
The verb redress is used when you are supposed to fix a problem and make amends. You want your parents to redress the fact that you don't have a pet. Your parents offer to get a hamster, but instead, you say you want a monkey. Redress can be used as both a noun and a verb. In the noun form, it is the compensation for setting something right. As a verb it means to correct, right a wrong, or make restitution for something. The union organizers wanted the company to redress the fact that workers weren't getting lunch breaks.
Vocabulary lists containing redress
The Declaration of Independence
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The Bill of Rights
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Monster
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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:
A Swedish truth commission on Wednesday urged the state to apologise for injustices committed against its indigenous Sami people, including assimilation programmes, and provide compensation and redress.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
"The civil claim was not only about financial redress," Manzoor said.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
He said he and his wife Anne were unsure if they would be pursuing further action against the Treasury, but that they wanted "redress".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Dozens more who worked at his luxury department store have filed for compensation under a redress scheme set up after a 2024 BBC documentary revealed the scale of his alleged offences.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
It was Carl’s heart that was now in question, whether he wanted to redress a wrong his own mother had perpetrated.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
“Across the Ages,” the first truly comprehensive Celtic art survey in the U.S., redresses that long-standing prejudice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
The first episode ends with a shot of a “Make America Gay Again” hat, which Grace has left on a chair in the Oval Office, as if that sufficiently redresses her self-absorption.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2017
Still, Stehlin redresses many of the play's shortcomings in this production, which may lack a certain bite, but which still nibbles the funny bone -- and takes an occasional nip at the heartstrings as well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2015
The new set redresses some of the complaints about the original.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2013
When the community cries shame, it uses a force that redresses wrong by the need of the one addressed to vindicate himself.
From The Foundations of Personality by Abraham Myerson
Even if every broken heart could be mended and every theft of opportunity redressed, ethno-racial communities would still rightly honor the endurance and resistance that sustained their members.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2024
Spencer redressed the existing sets to reflect the manly elements Gosling’s Ken has brought back from the Real World, including mini-fridges and leather furniture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
In 2005, the historical situation was redressed, when South Korea paid direct compensation to tens of thousands of wartime laborers.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
Third, their injury would not be redressed by a court ruling in their favor.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2022
Finally they redressed him in his raggedy clothing.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
That dragged total exports down by a total 7.3% on year, with other markets redressing some of the American drag.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
“There is a trend towards redressing wrongs, telling untold stories, exposing truths, revealing hypocrisies,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
“The question is, how can we use contracting to make an even greater impact on redressing harms and discrimination, and opening doors to opportunity?”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2023
"I'm not saying these things shouldn't exist, and these things shouldn't be out there. But maybe we're redressing the balance a bit on people showing that they've got a perfect life for their children."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2022
She points to her wound, which is oozy, and clearly needs redressing.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
