redress
Americannoun
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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)
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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:
An individual emotional response to a government policy or action isn’t an injury courts can redress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 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
The removal of the border is therefore expected to have major economic benefits, facilitating the flow of people back and forth, and possibly going some way to redress the imbalance between the two territories.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
In practice, this means that only the parties named in a case can get immediate redress.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Convicts had no meaningful legal rights at this time and no effective redress.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
“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 scene of her happily gabbing away in her car with a bedraggled but game hippie hitchhiker she’s picked up before the two women share an affectionate goodbye hug redresses the balance considerably.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2019
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
Her curator Ian Alteveer, for one, is focused on the art of Kerry James Marshall, a prominent figurative painter from Birmingham, Ala., whose work redresses the absence of black subjects in Western art.
From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2015
Culture redresses his balance, and puts him among his equals.
From The Humors of Falconbridge A Collection of Humorous and Every Day Scenes by Falconbridge
Well, there's plenty of damage to be redressed.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2025
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
In standing terms, that means their injury won’t be redressed by the relief they seek, so they have no right to sue.
From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2023
Finally they redressed him in his raggedy clothing.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Those from the Renaissance to the 19th century have been brought into the canon, redressing centuries of neglect, while once well-known female artists of the past whose reputations faded are again highly visible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
“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
"It's also about redressing the pay gap over the last 10 years," she said, claiming teachers had seen a 20% fall in real-terms wages since 2013.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2023
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.
