Meaning & use
recompense
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Meanings
noununcountableformal
Something paid or given to make up for a loss, harm, or effort.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: no recompense; often followed by 'for'.
Patterns
- recompense for something
- in recompense
The family received no recompense for the damage to their home.
She asked for recompense for the hours she had worked.
As recompense, the airline offered a free flight.
verbtransitiveformal
To pay or reward someone for their loss, harm or effort.
Grammar: Takes an object: recompense someone for something.
Patterns
- recompense someone for something
The company agreed to recompense the victims.
He recompensed the farmer for the damaged crops.
They were recompensed for their expenses.
Word forms
| plural | recompenses |
|---|---|
| third person singular | recompenses |
| past tense | recompensed |
| past participle | recompensed |
| -ing form | recompensing |
Common combinations
- in recompense for
- He gave her flowers in recompense for his rudeness.
- seek recompense
- Residents sought recompense for the flood damage.
- full recompense
- They received full recompense for their loss.
- without recompense
- Workers laboured for months without recompense.
- a fair recompense
- A fair recompense for such work would be higher.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compensation
- Compensation is the more common word and often has a legal or financial sense, while recompense is more formal and literary.
- reparation
- Reparation suggests making amends for a wrong, often between countries, whereas recompense is more general.
- reward
- Reward is for good behavior or effort, but recompense also covers loss.
- restitution
- Restitution means giving back what was taken, narrower than recompense.
Word family
- recompensation noun
- rare form meaning the act of recompensing
- compensate verb
- to make up for something
- compensation noun
- money paid for loss
Commonly confused: recompense or recompose?
recompense vs recompose
Recompose means to put together again, which differs from recompense.
Practice
The tenants demanded ___ for the weeks they spent without heating.
Choose one answer.
Recompense means payment made to make up for a loss. Recourse is a source of help, so it does not fit the sentence as well.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “recompense”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.