compensate
English Edit
Etymology Edit
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 Edit
- (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 Edit
compensate (third-person singular simple present compensates, present participle compensating, simple past and past participle compensated)
- To do (something good) after (something bad) happens
- 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.
- (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.
- 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 Edit
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 | |
Synonyms Edit
- (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
Derived terms Edit
Related terms Edit
Translations Edit
to do (something good) after (something bad) happens
|
to balance the scales, to equalize, to reach equilibrium
|
to pay or reward someone in exchange for work done or some other consideration
|
to make up for; to do something in place of something else; to correct or fill
|
to adjust or adapt to a change, often a harm or deprivation
|
Further reading Edit
- “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 Edit
Etymology 1 Edit
Verb Edit
compensate
- inflection of compensare:
Etymology 2 Edit
Participle Edit
compensate f pl
Latin Edit
Verb Edit
compēnsāte
Spanish Edit
Verb Edit
compensate
- second-person singular voseo imperative of compensar combined with te