requite

1
as in to compensate
to provide (someone) with a just payment for loss or injury the company requited the employee who had fallen on the ice while leaving work by promptly paying all his medical bills, hoping that would stave off a lawsuit

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to avenge
to punish in kind the wrongdoer responsible for the future writer would later requite the abuse he suffered at the hands of his classmates by creating scathing portraits of them in his novels

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb requite contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of requite are reciprocate, retaliate, and return. While all these words mean "to give back usually in kind or in quantity," requite implies a paying back according to one's preference and often not equivalently.

requited her love with cold indifference

When can reciprocate be used instead of requite?

The words reciprocate and requite can be used in similar contexts, but reciprocate implies a mutual or equivalent exchange or a paying back of what one has received.

reciprocated their hospitality by inviting them for a visit

When is retaliate a more appropriate choice than requite?

In some situations, the words retaliate and requite are roughly equivalent. However, retaliate usually implies a paying back of injury in exact kind, often vengefully.

the enemy retaliated by executing their prisoners

When might return be a better fit than requite?

While the synonyms return and requite are close in meaning, return implies a paying or giving back.

returned their call
return good for evil

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of requite But after years of wooing Silicon Valley, the Defense Department’s interest became requited, with companies like Amazon seeing opportunities to replace the government’s hodge-podge data centers with cloud computing, for which the Pentagon was offering a $10 billion contract prize in 2019. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025 The individuals are putting money to work furiously, in individual stocks, demonstrating faith not in Trump, but in business, and it is being requited and will continue to be requited with higher stock prices. Jim Cramer, CNBC, 13 July 2025 Reflecting Lee’s turmoil as he’s tormented by heroin withdrawals and his not entirely requited affection for Allerton, the film is moody, and the sets reflect the interior landscapes of its characters. Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 16 Dec. 2024 In the book, the main character falls in love with an android that only pretends to requite his feelings. IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023 But his love wasn’t always requited. Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2023 Looks like the love Taylor Swift has for Grey’s Anatomy is fully requited! Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 15 Feb. 2023 An intensity which can be called religious characterizes the devotion shown to their community by literally millions of people who routinely sacrifice — time, money, labor — to remark that devotion; and, using their own language, methods, and skills, to requite the community. William F. Buckley Jr., National Review, 26 Nov. 2020 There’s a lot to requite my love. Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 18 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for requite
Verb
  • This was initially an emergency measure introduced in 2020, when football was forced into a demanding schedule to compensate for the three months lost to the pandemic.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Not Considering Size Trying to compensate for the wrong-size reed diffuser by adding or removing reeds is the wrong way to go, says Xu.
    Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Minnesota will get a chance to avenge last week’s loss to the Lakers, a 128-110 defeat in Los Angeles, where Luka Doncic put up a ridiculous line of 49 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.
    Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The Eagles’ task of the week involves avenging their loss to the Giants in Week 6.
    Mike Jones, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Select members were recruited as handlers for Daedone’s wealthy boyfriend, whose massive loans to the company were apparently repaid on an installment plan of blow jobs.
    Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • First, the union contends that the employees hired after the equity increase was made have no obligation to repay any money.
    Richard Halstead, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • While the Constitution demands that members of Congress never go without pay and federal law mandates that federal employees are eventually reimbursed with back pay, the same is not true for workers contracted by the federal government.
    Tiana Lowe Doescher, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The region’s Head Start sites incur costs on their own but are reimbursed on a monthly basis through federal grants.
    Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • While protein bars may never be as delicious as candy bars, these picks will satisfy your hunger and your taste buds.
    Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Everything from the glossy caramel drizzle to the satisfying crunch is a little messy, but totally charming, just like you.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Requite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/requite. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

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