What does requiting mean?
Requiting means acting in return for something another person has done, especially by retaliating against a wrong or punishing an offender. In this more forceful sense, it carries a sense of justice, revenge, or answering one act with another. It can also mean repaying or rewarding someone for a favour, gift, or service, as in requiting a kindness. The word is more formal and literary than ordinary alternatives such as repaying or retaliating, and its use may suggest that a balance or obligation is being settled. Requiting is especially appropriate when the response to an action is deliberate and morally significant, whether the intended result is punishment, compensation, or reciprocal goodwill.
To retaliate against or punish someone for something they have done.
"The government vowed to requite the attack with a firm response."
Often used in a formal or literary register.
To repay or reward someone for a favour or action.
"The family gathered to requite the volunteers who had helped during the storm."
This sense conveys reciprocal obligation or gratitude.
Requiting turns the tables: what began as an action against you is answered with an action in return.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does requiting come from?
The word comes ultimately from Latin, where the root quaerere meant “to seek” and developed meanings connected with asking or demanding. The familiar sense of requiring or requesting lies in the same broad etymological family. In English, requite developed through Old French and acquired the meanings of demanding or seeking back, and later repaying, retaliating against, or rewarding.
Related word forms
How requiting is actually used
The word is formal and somewhat literary. Its sense of retaliation can sound harsh or morally loaded, while its sense of repayment can imply reciprocal obligation or gratitude.
Easily confused with requiting
Reciprocate generally means to return a gesture, feeling, or favour, whereas requite can specifically mean to retaliate against or punish someone.
Avenge focuses on redressing a wrong, often by punishing the person responsible, while requite can also mean to repay or reward someone.