compensation

[ kom-puhn-sey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or state of compensating, as by rewarding someone for service or by making up for someone's loss, damage, or injury by giving the injured party an appropriate benefit.
2. the state of being compensated or rewarded in this way.
3. something given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, loss, injury, suffering, lack, etc.; indemnity:

   The insurance company paid him $2000 as compensation for the loss of his car.

   Synonyms: indemnification, satisfaction, requital, reparation, amends, payment, recompense

4. Biology. the improvement of any defect by the excessive development or action of another structure or organ of the same structure.
5. Psychology. a mechanism by which an individual attempts to make up for some real or imagined deficiency of personality or behavior by developing or stressing another aspect of the personality or by substituting a different form of behavior.

compensation

/ ˌkɒmpɛnˈseɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of making amends for something
2. something given as reparation for loss, injury, etc; indemnity
3. the automatic movements made by the body to maintain balance
4. the attempt to conceal or offset one's shortcomings by the exaggerated exhibition of qualities regarded as desirable
5. biology abnormal growth and increase in size in one organ in response to the removal or inactivation of another

Derived Forms

• ˌcompenˈsational, adjective

Other Words From

• compen·sation·al adjective
• noncom·pen·sation noun
• precom·pen·sation noun
• procom·pen·sation adjective
• subcom·pen·sation noun
• subcom·pen·sation·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of compensation¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English compensacioun, from Latin compēnsātiōn-, stem of compēnsātiō “a balancing”; equivalent to compensate + -ion

Example Sentences

Harrods said: "We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate."

From BBC

More than $5 trillion goes each year to Social Security, Medicare, federal employee retirement, unemployment compensation and the like.

From Los Angeles Times

It's thought the cost of compensation could reach £16bn, according to analysts.

From BBC

Some could come from people previously told they had no claim for compensation because they did not have a discretionary commission arrangement.

From BBC

It wants an orderly compensation system, if it comes to that.

From BBC

Related Words

• allowance
• benefit
• bonus
• coverage
• earnings
• fee
• indemnity
• pay
• payment
• payoff
• premium
• profit
• redress
• reimbursement
• remittance
• remuneration
• reparation
• restitution
• reward
• salary