Meaning & use

rewarded

verb, adjective·Everyday

Last updated

UK/rɪˈwɔːdɪd/
US/rɪˈwɔːrdɪd/

“rewarded” is a form of “reward”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. verbtransitive

    Past tense and past participle of reward: gave someone something good in return for effort, good behavior or success.

    Grammar: Takes an object and often for or with: rewarded her for her help.

    Patterns

    • rewarded someone for something
    • rewarded someone with something

    The teacher rewarded the class with extra recess.

    She was rewarded for her hard work with a promotion.

    The shop rewarded loyal customers with discounts.

  2. adjectivecomparable

    Feeling that your effort has been worth it or receiving something in return for it.

    Grammar: Usually follows feel or be: she felt rewarded.

    Patterns

    • feel rewarded
    • be richly rewarded

    He felt rewarded when the students thanked him.

    Volunteers are rewarded by seeing the difference they make.

    The detective was rewarded with a breakthrough.

Word forms

base formreward

Common combinations

richly rewarded
Patience is richly rewarded here.
rewarded for hard work
She was rewarded for hard work with a bonus.
feel rewarded
I felt rewarded after finishing the course.
rewarded with praise
The puppy was rewarded with praise.
handsomely rewarded
Informants were handsomely rewarded.

Synonyms and how they differ

compensated
Compensated suggests payment for loss or work, while rewarded stresses recognition of good effort.
recognized
Recognized only means noticed and acknowledged, whereas rewarded involves giving something.
paid
Paid is about money, while rewarded can be a prize, praise or privilege.

Opposites

punishedpenalized

Word family

reward noun
something given in return for effort
rewarding adjective
giving satisfaction or benefit
rewardingly adverb
in a satisfying way
unrewarded adjective
not given anything in return

Commonly confused: rewarded or rewarding?

rewarded vs rewarding

Rewarding describes a task that gives satisfaction. Rewarded describes the person who received something.

Practice

Choose the correct preposition: The students were rewarded ___ their excellent attendance.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “rewarded”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words