Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

Thesaurus

compensate

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of compensate

  1. 1 to provide (someone) with a just payment for loss or injury you'll have to compensate the neighbors for cutting down their tree Synonyms indemnify, recompense, recoup, remunerate, requite, satisfy Related Words refund, reimburse, repay; redress, remedy, repair; discharge, pay, quit

  2. 2 to give (someone) the sum of money owed for goods or services received compensate them well for their efforts Synonyms pay, recompense, remunerateRelated Words refund, reimburse, repay, requite; remit; pay off, pay up, prepayNear Antonyms stiff

From the M-W Editors

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59c52d6ee2f72
Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'
image1644821030
These Are Fighting Words

Learn More about compensate

  1. See words that rhyme with compensate Dictionary: Definition of compensate Medical Dictionary: Definition of compensate Spanish Central: Translation of compensate Nglish: Translation of compensate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of compensate for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up compensate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

legerity

play

alert quickness of mind or body

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. dotage, dotard a state or period of senile decay

  2. otherwise "in other respects"

  3. federalism Graham says bill gives power to states

  4. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  5. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c52d6ee2f72
Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

The word's origins are quite literal

alt-59c4207ecf106
Let's Talk 'Tea'

Spill it, sip it: just make it hot.

image1644821030
8 Words and Phrases from Boxing and Wrestling

Common terms that come from boxing and wrestling

alt-59c2960017c94
The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'

When you push a meeting, where does it go?

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Take the quiz
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game