recompense
UK/ˈɹɛkəmˌpɛns/
recompense noun: an equivalent returned for anything given, done, or suffered; compensation; reward; amends; requital.
Noun
recompense (countable and uncountable, plural recompenses)
- An equivalent returned for anything given, done, or suffered; compensation; reward; amends; requital.
- Synonyms:
- meed, payback, recompence
- That which compensates for an injury, or other type of harm or damage.
- He offered money as recompense for the damage, but what the injured party wanted was an apology.
- O let my books be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love and look for recompense
More than that tongue that more hath more express'd.1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 23
- Synonyms:
- amends, recompence, remuneration, restitution, satisfaction, acquittal, assyth, bote, compensation, indemnification
Verb
recompense (third-person singular simple present recompenses, present participle recompensing, simple past and past participle recompensed)
- To reward or repay (someone) for something done, given etc.
- She in regard thereof him recompenst / With golden words, and goodly countenance, / And such fond fauours sparingly dispenst […]1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.ii
- He cannot recompense me better.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- To give compensation for an injury, or other type of harm or damage.
- The judge ordered the defendant to recompense the plaintiff by paying $100.
- To give (something) in return; to pay back; to pay, as something earned or deserved.
- Recompense to no man evil for evil.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 12:17
recompense meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
recompense in Tamil
- recompense, return
- கைம்மாறு kaimmāṟu
recompense in Urdu
- recompense
- صلہ sila
recompense in Bengali
- that which compensates for a harm done
- ক্ষতিপূরণ khotipuron, বদলা bodola, জাযা jaja, এনাম enam
recompense in Malayalam
- പ്രതിഫലം കൊടുക്കുക, പ്രത്യുപകാരം ചെയ്യുക, പരിഹരിക്കുക, നഷ്ടപരിഹാരം ചെയ്യുക
More languagesFewer languages
- recompense in Kannada
- ಪ್ರತಿಫಲ, ಪುರಸ್ಕಾರ, ನಷ್ಟಪರಿಹಾರ, ಸಮಾಧಾನಪಡಿಸುವಿಕೆ
- recompense in Pashto
- انعام
- recompense in Arabic
- مُكَافَأَة mukāfaʔa, بَدَل badal
Examples of recompense in a sentence
- The place itself provided solace and recompense.
- Indeed, asymmetry precludes the possibility of pointing to any particular quo that is meant to recompense the quid.
- The lack of explicit reference to God as the subject of the recompensing activity is not crucial in this instance.
Synonyms of recompense
12 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of recompense
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | recompenses |
| alternative form (obsolete) | recompence |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | recompenses |
| present participle | recompensing |
| past participle | recompensed |
| past | recompensed |
Origin of recompense
From Middle English recompense, borrowed from Old French recompense or Medieval Latin recompensa.
From Middle English recompensen, borrowed from Old French recompenser, from Late Latin recompensare, from Latin re- (“again”) + compensare (“to balance out”).
Words formed from recompense
Words that rhyme with recompense
Questions about recompense
- What does recompense mean?
- Recompense means an equivalent returned for anything given, done, or suffered; compensation; reward; amends; requital.
- What is recompense in Tamil?
- Recompense in Tamil is கைம்மாறு (kaimmāṟu). See Recompense meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is recompense?
- Recompense can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce recompense?
- Recompense is pronounced /ˈɹɛkəmˌpɛns/ (UK).
- What is the plural of recompense?
- The plural of recompense is recompenses.
Words near recompense in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: recompense (page history and authors); கைம்மாறு (Tamil) (page history and authors); صلہ (Urdu) (page history and authors); recompense (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); recompense (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); انعام (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-recompense.ogg.
Cite this entry: “recompense.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/recompense. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.