Recompense
n.kind, thoughtfulformal
What it means
Payment or another return given for work, loss, or service.
Reach for it when naming a deserved return in elevated or legal language
The foundation offered recompense for the artisans' months of restoration work.
Choose between these
5- everyday
repayment
something owed is returned
not when Repayment implies a debt.
- warm
achievement receives a positive return
not when Reward does not usually repair loss.
- professional
compensation
payment answers work or harm
not when Compensation sounds administrative.
- formal
remuneration
money is paid for services
not when Remuneration excludes nonfinancial returns.
- literary
repair for a wrong is intended
not when Amends requires acknowledged wrongdoing.
Said against
3- penalty
- loss
- nonpayment
It naturally appears in
3- fair recompense
Fair recompense allowed the craft workers to continue.
- receive recompense
Families received recompense for the acquired land.
- recompense for service
The medal was small recompense for years of service.
Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English noun sense: compensation or reward opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.