compensate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin compensatus, past participle of compensare (“to weight together one thing against another, balance, make good, later also shorten, spare”), from com- (“together”) + pensare (“to weight”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒm.pən.seɪt/, /ˈkɒm.pɛn.seɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑm.pənˌseɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔm.penˌsæɪt/
• Rhymes: -eɪt, -æɪt

Verb

compensate (third-person singular simple present compensates, present participle compensating, simple past and past participle compensated)

1. To do (something good) after (something bad) happens
2. To pay or reward someone in exchange for work done or some other consideration.

   It is hard work, but they will compensate you well for it.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To make up for; to do something in place of something else; to correct, satisfy; to reach an agreement such that the scales are literally or (metaphorically) balanced; to equalize or make even.

   His loud voice cannot compensate for a lack of personality.

   To compensate me for his tree landing on my shed, my neighbor paved my driveway.

   • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

     The length of the night and the dews thereof do compensate the heat of the day.

   • 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
     , Preface

     The pleasures of life do not compensate the miseries.

4. To adjust or adapt to a change, often a harm or deprivation.

   I don't like driving that old car because it always steers a little to the left so I'm forever compensating for that when I drive it. Trust me, it gets annoying real fast.

   To compensate for his broken leg, Gary uses crutches.

Conjugation

Conjugation of compensate

infinitive	(to) compensate
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	compensate	compensated
2nd-person singular	compensate, compensatest†	compensated, compensatedst†
3rd-person singular	compensates, compensateth†	compensated
plural	compensate
subjunctive	compensate	compensated
imperative	compensate	—
participles	compensating	compensated

^†Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms

• (to do something good): See Thesaurus:compensate
• (to pay): guerdon, reimburse; see also Thesaurus:reimburse
• (to make up for): See Thesaurus:atone or Thesaurus:offset
• (to adjust to a change): acclimatize, acclimate, accommodate, accustom, adapt; see also Thesaurus:accustom

• equate
• offset
• redeem
• accord
• reconcile
• harmonize
• atone
• indemnify
• requite
• rectify
• level
• resolve
• square
• amend
• expiate
• redress
• remedy
• remunerate
• appease
• restitute and restitution

Derived terms

• overcompensate
• recompensate
• undercompensate

 

Related terms

• compensation
• compensatory
• compensable
• compensably
• recompense

Translations

to do (something good) after (something bad) happens

• Faroese: bøta aftur, gera gott aftur
• German: kompensieren (de), ausgleichen (de), wiedergutmachen (de)
• Hungarian: kompenzál (hu)
• Italian: compensare (it)
• Latin: compensō
• Polish: kompensować (pl) impf, skompensować pf, równoważyć (pl) impf, zrównoważyć (pl) pf, wyrównywać (pl) impf, wyrównać (pl) pf
• Russian: компенси́ровать (ru) impf or pf (kompensírovatʹ), возмеща́ть (ru) impf (vozmeščátʹ), возмести́ть (ru) pf (vozmestítʹ)

to balance the scales, to equalize, to reach equilibrium

• Bulgarian: балансирам (bg) (balansiram)
• Catalan: compensar (ca)
• Faroese: viga upp ímóti
• German: ausgleichen (de), aufwiegen (de)
• Hungarian: kiegyensúlyoz (hu), kiegyenlít (hu), kompenzál (hu), ellensúlyoz (hu), ellentételez (hu)
• Italian: bilanciare (it)
• Latin: compensō
• Russian: скомпенси́ровать (ru) pf (skompensírovatʹ), сбалансировать (ru) pf (sbalansirovatʹ), уравновешивать (ru) impf (uravnovešivatʹ)

to pay or reward someone in exchange for work done or some other consideration

• Azerbaijani: qarşılamaq (az)
• Bulgarian: обезщетявам (bg) (obezštetjavam), компенсирам (bg) (kompensiram)
• Catalan: compensar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 报酬 (zh) (bàochóu)

• Finnish: hyvittää (fi), korvata (fi)
• German: eine Kompensation zahlen , vergüten (de), entgelten (de)
• Hebrew: לתגמל (le'tagmel)
• Hungarian: kárpótol (hu), kártalanít (hu)
• Italian: compensare (it)
• Japanese: 補填する (ja) (hoten suru)
• Latin: tueor
• Norwegian: kompensere
• Polish: rekompensować (pl) impf, zrekompensować pf
• Portuguese: compensar (pt), recompensar (pt), pagar (pt)
• Romanian: compensa (ro)
• Russian: заплатить (ru) (zaplatitʹ), расплачиваться (ru) (rasplačivatʹsja)
• Scottish Gaelic: dìol
• Serbo-Croatian: kompenzírati (sh), nadòknaditi (sh), nadòmjestiti (sh)
• Turkish: zararını karşılamak (indemnify), hakkını vermek

to make up for; to do something in place of something else; to correct or fill

• Bulgarian: компенсирам (bg) (kompensiram)
• Catalan: compensar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 弥补 (zh) (míbǔ)

• Dutch: compenseren (nl), goedmaken (nl)
• Faroese: viga upp ímóti, útjavna
• Finnish: kompensoida (fi)
• French: compenser (fr)
• German: kompensieren (de), ausgleichen (de), wettmachen (de), ausbügeln (de)
• Hebrew: לפצות (le'fatzot)
• Hungarian: kompenzál (hu), ellensúlyoz (hu), pótol (hu)
• Japanese: 補填する (ja) (hoten suru)
• Latin: compensō
• Norwegian: kompensere
• Portuguese: compensar (pt), recompensar (pt)
• Russian: компенси́ровать (ru) impf or pf (kompensírovatʹ), возмеща́ть (ru) impf (vozmeščátʹ), возмести́ть (ru) pf (vozmestítʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: dìol
• Serbo-Croatian: kompenzírati (sh), nadòknaditi (sh), nadòmjestiti (sh)
• Turkish: telafi etmek (tr)

to adjust or adapt to a change, often a harm or deprivation

• German: ausgleichen (de), etwas dagegensetzen
• Hungarian: kompenzál (hu), utánaszabályoz

Further reading

• “compensate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “compensate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

compensate

1. inflection of compensare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

compensate f pl

1. feminine plural of compensato

Latin

Verb

compēnsāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of compēnsō

Spanish

Verb

compensate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of compensar combined with te