reparation

[rep-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. 1. the making of amends for wrong or injury done.

      In reparation for the injustice, the king made him head of the agricultural department.

   2. something done or given to make amends.

      The prosecutor has requested a reparation of $32 million to victims of the crime.

   Synonyms: compensation, satisfaction, atonement, indemnification

2. Usually reparations

   1. compensation in money, material, labor, etc., payable by a defeated country to another country or to an individual for loss suffered during or as a result of war.

      The U.S. government eventually disbursed reparations to Japanese Americans who had been interned during World War II.

   2. monetary or other compensation payable by a country to an individual for a historical wrong.

      The article is about reparations to Black people for the enslavement of their ancestors.

3. restoration to good condition.

   Synonyms: repair, renovate, renewal
   Antonyms: destruction

4. repair.

reparation

/ rɪˈpærətɪv, ˌrɛpəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of making amends

   an injury admitting of no reparation

2. (usually plural) compensation exacted as an indemnity from a defeated nation by the victors: esp the compensation demanded of Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I

3. the act or process of repairing or state of having been repaired

reparation

1. Compensation demanded by a victorious nation from a defeated nation. Reparations can be in the form of goods or money.

After World War I, heavy reparation debts were imposed on Germany by Britain, France, and the other victorious nations. Resentment over these reparations aided the rise of Adolf Hitler.

Other Word Forms

• nonreparation noun
• reparative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of reparation¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English reparacion, from Middle French, from Late Latin reparātiōn- (stem of reparātiō ), equivalent to Latin reparāt(us) (past participle of reparāre “to repair” ( repair ¹, -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- noun suffix ( -ion )

Word History and Origins

Origin of reparation¹

C14 reparacioun , ultimately from Latin reparāre to _repair ¹

Synonym Study

See redress.

Example Sentences

More than 60 years later, the payment is part of a larger reparations effort by the city of Santa Monica.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Their demands include "reparations" for damage caused by corporations and governments, especially to marginalized communities.

Read more on Barron's

The dispute boils down to conflicting assessments of legal risk to the reparations loan.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

BHP always denied liability and said the London lawsuit duplicated legal proceedings and reparation and repair programmes in Brazil.

Read more on BBC

They plan to use the cash to raise a so-called "repatriation loan" for Ukraine, repaid only if Russia ever pays reparations after the end of the war.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• apology 
• atonement 
• indemnity 
• payment 
• redress 
• remuneration 
• renewal 
• repayment www.thesaurus.com
• restitution