1
as in compensation
payment to another for a loss or injury
the jury awarded an additional $5,000 in recompense for physical pain and suffering
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in payment
something (as money) that is given or received in return for goods or services
the volunteer expects nothing more than sincere thanks as recompense for his efforts
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to compensate
to give (someone) the sum of money owed for goods or services received
the cash-strapped museum can recompense lecturers with only token honorariums
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to reimburse
to provide (someone) with a just payment for loss or injury
the government has yet to adequately recompense the property owners for the land taken for the new highway
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to repay
to make a return for
the wealthy gentleman told the poor little girl she could recompense his generosity simply by enjoying her new toys
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of recompense
Dylan Moore, National Review, 1 Mar. 2025
No justice is served, no deterrence is advanced, and no recompense will be extracted.
—Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2023
European countries like Germany and the UK have shored up money for their violent role in suppressing Namibian and Kenyan protests, but the Netherlands is the first to publicly acknowledge and recompense for slavery.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 23 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for recompense
Noun
Denied appeal by lower courts for a SWAT raid gone wrong at her house, Atlanta mom Trina Martin now seeks recompense at the nation’s highest court.
—Dylan Moore, National Review, 1 Mar. 2025
No justice is served, no deterrence is advanced, and no recompense will be extracted.
—Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
Thurber complained to him about being asked to recompense The New Yorker for a sixty-dollar overpayment; writers got paid by the word (still do), and the accounting department had calculated that the final word count on a certain Thurber story was less than the original word count.
—Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2023
European countries like Germany and the UK have shored up money for their violent role in suppressing Namibian and Kenyan protests, but the Netherlands is the first to publicly acknowledge and recompense for slavery.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 23 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for recompense
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recompense
Noun
-
In these instances, many survivors never see their abusers held accountable and never receive proper compensation because many attorneys view these cases as infeasible, thereby denying survivors access to the civil justice system.—
Samantha Dos Santos,
Baltimore Sun,
26 Apr. 2025
-
Employee compensation as a share of national income had been 61.8% during that 2010-to-2019 period.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Recipients can use an SSA calculator to figure out their payment total.—
Elaine Mallon,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Virginia Housing provided the first mortgage for the project and payments are about $125,000 a month.—
Celia Fernandez,
CNBC,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
If your core isn’t doing its job, other muscles have to try and compensate.—
Danielle Zickl,
SELF,
24 Apr. 2025
-
But Stafford, who’s entering the 17th season of a career which will land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, wanted to be compensated at the market rate.—
Jay Paris,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Werner heard that one of her scholarships—which had been administered by the center—was being eliminated, sending her into a panic about how to pay for school.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Federal investigators ultimately found that its officers use excessive force, discriminate against Black people, conduct stops and searches without probable cause, and arrest people purely for not having the money to pay fines.—
Topher Sanders,
ProPublica,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The plans, which are privately run but reimbursed with taxpayer money, will see payments increase by 5.1 percent under a final Trump administration rule, for a total increase of about $30 billion.—
Nathaniel Weixel,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Of the $16,000, Burns reimbursed the school for more than $7,000 and provided documentation for the rest after school officials met with Burns in late January about the audit’s findings.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The quickest, but hardest, is to repay the loans in full.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
23 Apr. 2025
-
The rest of the £637m refinancing was a £112m loan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA), of which £50m has since been repaid.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Turner has been walking to D.C. monthly for 31 months to push for reparations.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Over the years, French governments have acknowledged the historic wrong of slavery in Haiti and other former colonies but like other former colonial powers have resisted calls for reparations.—
Tom Nouvian and Sylvie Corbet,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Recompense.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recompense. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share