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Glite Dictionary
conscience money

conscience money

8.8
Money given to make up for past wrongs and ease guilt
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒnʃəns ˈmʌni/
  • UK
translation icon : dinero de conciencia
  • CONSCIENCE MONEY.

Examples

  • Feeling remorseful for his actions, he decided to pay back some conscience money to those he had deceived.

  • I tell you this, not because I am proud, but because I wish you to know that I do not need your conscience money.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • After realizing his mistake, he donated some conscience money to the charity to ease his guilt.

  • She left an envelope of conscience money at the church, hoping it would help those she had wronged.

Synonyms

reparation
vsconscience money
19 6.8

Giving money or help to make up for a wrong

is given voluntarily to ease personal guilt rather than as formal compensation

How Much

tidy sum
  • Informal
3 3.7
conscience money
  • UK
8.8

Surface Forms

conscience money singular
conscience moneys plural

Morphology

conscience + money

The sense 'money given voluntarily to make amends' is directly derivable from combining 'conscience' (a sense of right and wrong) with 'money' — a common noun-compound pattern where the modifier indicates the purpose or motive for the money. This composition is semantically predictable and cross-linguistically plausible, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Conscience money comes from the simple image of someone leaving cash to quiet their inner voice. The idea is that the conscience, your sense of right and wrong, is eased when you give money to 'make amends' for a past wrong, so the phrase means giving money to reduce 'guilt'.