What does recompensed mean?
Recompensed is the past tense and past participle of the verb recompense. It means to compensate someone for money they have lost, an expense they have incurred, or harm they have suffered: a passenger might be recompensed for a missed connection, or a customer might be recompensed for an incorrect delivery. It can also mean that someone has been paid or rewarded for work or a service they have provided. The word is commonly transitive and normally takes “for,” as in “recompensed for the loss.” It has a formal, sometimes legal or business-oriented tone, but it is used in ordinary English as well. Although its prefix “re-” might initially suggest a repeated or second payment, the word does not necessarily imply that compensation has already been given once.
verbTo compensate someone for a loss, expense, or wrong, or to reward someone for work or service. “Recompensed” is the past tense and past participle of recompense.
- To compensate someone for a loss, expense, or injury.
- To reward or pay someone for work, effort, or service.
"The passengers were recompensed for the inconvenience caused by the delayed train."
"The company recompensed the employee for the travel costs incurred on the assignment."
"She was recompensed for the damage caused by the faulty equipment."
The prefix “re-” can suggest a second payment, but recompensed simply means compensated or rewarded.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does recompensed come from?
The related verb recompense entered Middle English through French récompenser. Its root is Latin compensare, meaning “weigh together” and subsequently “make up for” or “offset,” while the prefix re- adds the sense of paying back or compensating again. English cognates include compensate and compensation, which descend from the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How recompensed is actually used
This form is normally used as a transitive verb and is followed by “for.” It has a formal tone and is especially common in legal, financial, and workplace contexts.
Easily confused with recompensed
“Recompensed” means compensated or paid, whereas “recompressed” means compressed again.