requital

[ri-kwahyt-l]

noun

1. the act of requiting.

2. a return or reward for service, kindness, etc.

3. a retaliation for a wrong, injury, etc.

4. something given or done as repayment, reward, punishment, etc., in return.

Other Word Forms

• nonrequital noun
• unrequital noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of requital¹

First recorded in 1570–80; requite + -al ²

Example Sentences

And my quest for requital was about to start.

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The coney was like hooey And squealed our requitals.

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With the wrongs, the crimes, the vices of centuries to avenge, they dreamed that the day of requital was come; and the dream had turned clods into devils.

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And the deeds which God will thus punish deserve, on the theory of punishment as prevention, no requital.

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The idea came from the Crito, where Socrates compels Crito to own that we must do evil to no one—not even by way of requital.

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