1
as in to reimburse
to provide (someone) with a just payment for loss or injury
you'll have to compensate the neighbors for cutting down their tree
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to offset
to balance with an equal force so as to make ineffective
a mafioso thinking that he can compensate for the evil he's done by giving to charity
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of compensate
Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
In sports, however, where many athletes are extremely well compensated and there’s a team/owner/union dynamic, things are typically a little blurrier.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2025
As for why the stars weren’t visible, that's because of the shutter speed used by the cameras to compensate for the amount of light being reflected from the sun (a problem professional and amateur photographers still face today when shooting up at the cloudless sky).
—Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
But the problem is land in Colorado is not cheap, and Colorado law demands that when eminent domain is used, a person is not only compensated for fair market value but also gets damages for the taking.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compensate
Verb
However, that wasn't enough to compensate for his declining offensive numbers.
—Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
In sports, however, where many athletes are extremely well compensated and there’s a team/owner/union dynamic, things are typically a little blurrier.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 31 Oct. 2025
As for why the stars weren’t visible, that's because of the shutter speed used by the cameras to compensate for the amount of light being reflected from the sun (a problem professional and amateur photographers still face today when shooting up at the cloudless sky).
—Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
But the problem is land in Colorado is not cheap, and Colorado law demands that when eminent domain is used, a person is not only compensated for fair market value but also gets damages for the taking.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compensate
Cite this Entry
“Compensate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compensate. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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