What does reparation mean?
Reparation means making good a loss, injury, or wrong. It can refer to compensation awarded to someone who has been harmed, to amends offered for an offense, or to the broader process of putting right a serious injustice. In political and legal discussion, the plural reparations is especially common when discussing payments, claims, or measures intended to address collective harm. The word has a deliberately formal and morally weighted tone, which distinguishes it from the more everyday phrase giving something back. Reparation may be awarded for physical or economic damage, emotional suffering, or the consequences of discrimination and conflict. Its underlying idea is restoration: not merely acknowledging that harm occurred, but attempting to repair the resulting damage or injury. The word is therefore useful when describing efforts toward accountability and repair, whether between individuals or between a community, institution, and wider society.
nounCompensation or amends for injury, loss, damage, or wrongdoing. The word can also refer more generally to the act of making good a wrong or restoring what has been damaged.
- Compensation or payment awarded for injury, loss, or damage suffered.
- Amends or redress for a wrong, offense, or injustice done.
"The government issued an official apology and provided reparation for the communities harmed by the policy."
"The victims sought reparation for the financial and emotional harm they had suffered."
"Her speech offered a thoughtful reparation for the thoughtless remarks made earlier that evening."
The standard plural is used especially for payments, claims, or acts of redress addressing a wrong, often on an individual or collective scale.
"The commission recommended reparations for the communities that had suffered discrimination."
From Latin reparare, reparation literally means “making good again”—a phrase that captures both repairing damage and redressing injustice.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reparation come from?
Reparation derives from Latin reparatio, a noun formed from reparare, meaning “to restore” or “repair,” which combines re- with parare, meaning “to prepare.” The word entered English through Old French during the late Middle English period, initially meaning restoration or the act of making good. Over time, its meaning developed to include compensation for loss and amends for wrongdoing.
Related word forms
How reparation is actually used
The word is formal and commonly appears in legal, political, and historical contexts. It often carries moral or remedial weight, whereas compensation may be more neutral.
Easily confused with reparation
Repair usually means fixing physical damage or restoring something to working order, whereas reparation more often means compensating someone or making amends for a wrong.