Meaning & use
compensating
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“compensating” is a form of “compensate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Balancing a loss, weakness, or disadvantage by supplying or developing something that offsets it.
Grammar: Usually followed by for: compensating for a weak serve with a strong return.
Patterns
- compensate for something
- compensate by doing something
She is compensating for her lack of height with quick footwork.
The engineers are compensating for the slope by adjusting the foundations.
He kept talking, compensating for his nervousness.
verbtransitive
Paying someone money or giving them something in return for harm, loss, or effort.
Grammar: Takes a person as the object: compensating the victims; the loss comes after for.
Patterns
- compensate someone for something
- compensate someone with something
The airline is compensating passengers whose flights were cancelled.
The council is compensating homeowners for the damage caused by the road works.
The firm is compensating staff with extra days off for the weekend work.
Common combinations
- compensating for a loss
- Higher sales abroad are compensating for a loss of income at home.
- compensating for a weakness
- He is compensating for a weakness in maths by studying harder.
- compensating victims
- The fund is compensating victims of the flood.
- fully compensating
- The insurance is fully compensating the owners for what they lost.
- compensating adequately
- Critics say the scheme is not compensating workers adequately.
Synonyms and how they differ
- making up for
- Making up for is the plain spoken version and is used for feelings and effort as well as money.
- offsetting
- Offsetting is common in finance and describes one amount cancelling another, rather than anyone being repaid.
- reimbursing
- Reimbursing is narrower and means paying back money someone has spent, not making up for a harm in general.
- recompensing
- Recompensing is more formal and old-fashioned, and fits a reward or repayment for effort.
Opposites
Word family
- compensate verb
- the base form, to make up for something
- compensation noun
- money or something else given to make up for a loss
- compensatory adjective
- intended to make up for something
- uncompensated adjective
- not paid or made up for
Commonly confused: compensating or complementing?
compensating vs complementing
Complementing means completing or going well with something, while compensating means making up for a shortfall or paying for a loss.
Practice
The goalkeeper is slow off his line, so he is compensating ______ it by reading the game very well.
Choose one answer.
Compensate takes for before the thing being offset. With, to and about do not form the pattern, although with can follow the thing used to compensate.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “compensating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.