Recompense

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɹɛkÉ™mˈpÉ›ns/
• Rhymes: -É›ns

Origin

Middle English, from Old French recompense, from Late Latin recompensare, from Latin re- ("again") + compensare ("to balance out")

Full definition of recompense

Noun

1. That which compensates for an injury.He offered money as recompense for the damage, but what the injured party wanted as recompense was an apology.

Synonyms

• restitution

Verb

1. To reward or repay (someone) for something done, given etc.
• 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.ii:She in regard thereof him recompenst
  With golden words, and goodly countenance,
  And such fond fauours sparingly dispenst ...
• ShakespeareHe cannot recompense me better.
2. To give compensation for an injury.The judge ordered the defendant to recompense the plaintiff by paying $100.
3. (transitive) To give (something) in return; to pay back; to pay, as something earned or deserved.
• Bible, Rom. xii. 17Recompense to no man evil for evil.