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redress

[noun ree-dres, ri-dres; verb ri-dres]
noun
  1. the setting right of what is wrong: redress of abuses.
  2. relief from wrong or injury.
  3. compensation or satisfaction for a wrong or injury.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to set right; remedy or repair (wrongs, injuries, etc.).
  2. to correct or reform (abuses, evils, etc.).
  3. to remedy or relieve (suffering, want, etc.).
  4. to adjust evenly again, as a balance.
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Origin of redress

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English redressen < Middle French redresser, Old French redrecier, equivalent to re- re- + drecier to straighten (see dress); (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French redresse, redresce, derivative of the v.
Related formsre·dress·a·ble, re·dress·i·ble, adjectivere·dress·er, re·dres·sor, nounun·re·dress·a·ble, adjective
Can be confusedre-dress redress (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonyms

1. restoration, remedy, atonement. 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. 5. amend, mend, emend, right, rectify, adjust. 6. ease.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for redresser

Historical Examples

  • A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser.

    The Works of Edgar Allan Poe

    Edgar Allan Poe

  • For Ralegh he was a redresser of grievances; and he was more.

    Sir Walter Ralegh

    William Stebbing

  • I do not take you for a sentimentalist or a redresser of wrongs.

    Audrey

    Mary Johnston

  • So this redresser of wrongs starts off, leaving the Margrave in his grief.

    Thackeray

    Anthony Trollope

  • The grandniece of the Confessor became the reformer of the Scottish Church, and the redresser of its abuses.

British Dictionary definitions for redresser

redress

verb (tr)
  1. to put right (a wrong), esp by compensation; make reparation forto redress a grievance
  2. to correct or adjust (esp in the phrase redress the balance)
  3. to make compensation to (a person) for a wrong
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noun
  1. the act or an instance of setting right a wrong; remedy or cureto seek redress of grievances
  2. compensation, amends, or reparation for a wrong, injury, etc
  3. relief from poverty or want
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Derived Formsredressable or redressible, adjectiveredresser or rare redressor, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old French redrecier to set up again, from re- + drecier to straighten; see dress
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

Word Origin and History for redresser

redress

v.

mid-14c., "to correct, reform;" late 14c., "restore, put right" (a wrong, error, offense); "repair; relieve; improve; amend," from Old French redrecier "reform, restore, rebuild" (Modern French redresser), from re- "again" (see re-) + drecier "to straighten, arrange" (see dress (v.)). Formerly used in many more senses than currently. Related: Redressed; redressing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper