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to recompense

to recompense

1 7.4
To pay someone for loss, harm, or effort
  • verb
  • /ˈrɛkəmˌpɛns/
translation icon : compensar
  • She hopes to recompense her friend for the help she received when she was in a difficult situation.

What was stolen or lent must be recompensed.

Examples

  • What he means is the worker is being recompensed for his work, right?

  • Then the discussion should move on to how to recompense the developing country's economists for all the warming that has occurred.

    Blog text (30)
  • His asking me to come is not to recompense me for years of being ignored by him.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Nothing you could do could recompense me for what I've lost.

  • Of course they can't really recompense you for this.

  • He asks to be recompensed for these extraordinary losses.

  • More recently, researchers are likely to recompense Indigenous people for their time, though there are still many instances when Indigenous people are interviewed without financial compensation.

    Academic text (2005)
  • She could not think of a single thing that would recompense him for so much lost time—in truth, the best years of his life.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The company promised to recompense the employees for their extra hours worked during the busy season.

  • To make amends, he offered to recompense her for the damage caused by his actions.

Synonyms

to reward
vsto recompense
328 1.3

To give something to someone to thank them for doing something good

includes payment for loss or making amends not only praise
to compensate
vsto recompense
102 4.2

To give money to someone for loss, injury or unpaid work

is the more formal term for the same action
to repay
vsto recompense
89 2.7

To give something in return for help or kindness

focuses on compensation or amends rather than simple return
to reimburse
vsto recompense
63 5.3

To pay back money someone spent for you

is broader covering payment for harm or effort too
to indemnify
vsto recompense
  • Formal
6 8.7

To pay someone for loss, damage, or legal costs they suffer

is about direct compensation or making amends rather than legal protection
to requite
vsto recompense
  • Formal
3 9.9

To give something in return for someone's kindness or help

is about paying or compensating rather than emotional return
to remunerate
vsto recompense
  • Formal
1 8.2

To pay someone for their work or services

is broader also applying to payment for loss or harm
to recomp
vsto recompense
  • Informal
9.9

To pay someone for work or help

is the neutral formal expression for the same idea

How Much

to indemnify
  • Formal
6 8.7
to recompense
1 7.4
to reimburse
63 5.3
to pay
1.0

Surface Forms

recompense infinitive
recompensed past participle
recompensing present participle
recompenses third person singular

Morphology

recompense = compense (semi-transparent) = re + compense

Formally analysable as re- + compense, but 'compense' is rarer than the more familiar 'compensate', so learners may only partially infer meaning from the parts.

Etymology

Recompense comes from Latin parts re- 'again' and pensare 'to weigh', the same root as compensation. That idea of 'making things even' explains why to recompense someone is to pay or reward them to make up for harm or effort.