1
as in to reimburse
to provide (someone) with a just payment for loss or injury
you'll have to compensate the neighbors for cutting down their tree
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to offset
to balance with an equal force so as to make ineffective
a mafioso thinking that he can compensate for the evil he's done by giving to charity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of compensate
Andrew S. Lim, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
The obvious one is compensating for the capriciousness of wind and solar power: As the sun sets and the wind calms, demand rises, and grid operators can tap into their power reserves to keep the lights on.
—Umair Irfan, Vox, 21 Apr. 2025
And there’s no money to compensate for the damage that the mere presence of wolves does to cow herds.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
In 2014, after Holocaust survivors protested the SNCF’s bids for contracts in the U.S., French and American ambassadors hammered out a US$60 million fund to compensate survivors who were not covered by other programs.
—Sarah Federman, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compensate
Verb
If a crisis were to break out, the United States might have to threaten escalation to compensate for its lack of conventional response options—potentially up to the nuclear level.
—Andrew S. Lim, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
The obvious one is compensating for the capriciousness of wind and solar power: As the sun sets and the wind calms, demand rises, and grid operators can tap into their power reserves to keep the lights on.
—Umair Irfan, Vox, 21 Apr. 2025
And there’s no money to compensate for the damage that the mere presence of wolves does to cow herds.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025
In 2014, after Holocaust survivors protested the SNCF’s bids for contracts in the U.S., French and American ambassadors hammered out a US$60 million fund to compensate survivors who were not covered by other programs.
—Sarah Federman, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compensate
Cite this Entry
“Compensate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compensate. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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