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.

From Salon

The coney was like hooey And squealed our requitals.

From Literature

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.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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.

From Project Gutenberg