as in damages
payment to another for a loss or injury
the government instituted a program of reparations to the descendants of Native Americans who were driven from their land
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Recent Examples of reparations
The pope also met abuse survivors privately and urged Spain’s bishops to listen to victims and make reparations.
—
Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 13 June 2026
Amid public outrage over the abuse crisis, Spain launched a reparations system earlier this year for clerical abuse cases too old to be prosecuted that requires the participation of the Catholic Church and the Spanish government.
—ABC News, 8 June 2026
Spain launched a reparations system this year Amid public outrage over the abuse crisis, Spain launched a reparations system earlier this year for clerical abuse cases too old to be prosecuted that requires the participation of the Catholic Church and the Spanish government.
—Suman Naishadham, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
The tribe bought 2,000 acres with some of its reparations from the 1980 federal Indian Land Claims Settlement Act.
—Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 8 June 2026
But back in Europe, Germany was struggling to repay enormous reparations.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2026
For nearly four decades, Schagrin sought reparations from Germany and spoke to students and community groups about the importance of Holocaust education.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
Iran is demanding reparations for the war's damage, an end to the blockade and an immediate end to the fighting, including in Lebanon.
—Garrett Downs, CNBC, 17 May 2026
In December 2024, a Belgian court ordered the government to pay reparations to five mixed-race women after they were forcibly removed from their families in the colonial-era Belgian Congo.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 13 June 2026
Amid public outrage over the abuse crisis, Spain launched a reparations system earlier this year for clerical abuse cases too old to be prosecuted that requires the participation of the Catholic Church and the Spanish government.
—ABC News, 8 June 2026
Spain launched a reparations system this year Amid public outrage over the abuse crisis, Spain launched a reparations system earlier this year for clerical abuse cases too old to be prosecuted that requires the participation of the Catholic Church and the Spanish government.
—Suman Naishadham, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
The tribe bought 2,000 acres with some of its reparations from the 1980 federal Indian Land Claims Settlement Act.
—Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 8 June 2026
But back in Europe, Germany was struggling to repay enormous reparations.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2026
For nearly four decades, Schagrin sought reparations from Germany and spoke to students and community groups about the importance of Holocaust education.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
Iran is demanding reparations for the war's damage, an end to the blockade and an immediate end to the fighting, including in Lebanon.
—Garrett Downs, CNBC, 17 May 2026
In December 2024, a Belgian court ordered the government to pay reparations to five mixed-race women after they were forcibly removed from their families in the colonial-era Belgian Congo.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reparations
Noun
-
The Iskanders sued Grossman and Erickson, and last week a jury found the pair liable in the boys’ deaths, awarding $176 million in damages to parents Nancy and Karim Iskander and younger son Zachary for wrongful death and emotional distress.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
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Though the lawsuit seeks upwards of $1 million in damages, the woman said, the effort isn’t about money.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Still, Fiedler shows convincingly enough that American writers’ attempts to adapt the seduction narrative to our concerns—to reimagine it so as to preserve our enduring sense of ourselves as innocents—explain our literature’s peculiar aversions and resultant compensations.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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Guy Ritchie is a filmmaker and series creator whose prodigious busyness in terms of both workload and story approach has its compensations.—
Michael Phillips,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reparations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reparations. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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