compensate
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to provide something good to balance out something bad or missing.
to counterbalance or offset a deficiency, error, or negative effect with an equivalent positive force.
Simple“His great enthusiasm for the project helped to compensate for his lack of experience.”
In context“The company's high salary offerings were designed to compensate for the high cost of living in the city center.”
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
to pay someone money because they worked for you or because they suffered a loss.
to provide financial payment or other valuable consideration in exchange for services rendered or as restitution for damages.
Simple“The airline had to compensate the passengers for the long flight delay.”
In context“The court ordered the firm to compensate the victims of the industrial accident for their medical expenses and lost wages.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
to change how something works to handle a new situation or a problem.
to make an adjustment in a system or behavior to offset the influence of an external factor or internal failure.
Simple“The pilot had to compensate for the strong winds while landing the plane.”
In context“The software automatically compensates for lens distortion to ensure the final image appears perfectly flat.”
Often used with the preposition 'for' when referring to balancing a deficiency. The verb is transitive when referring to payment ('compensate someone').
When the verb means to offset a negative quality, it requires the preposition 'for' before the noun phrase.
“The airline’s finance chief said last month it was “way too early” to discuss whether Ryanair would have to compensate the couple while the airline awaited the outcome of an investigation into the incident.”
“When landmarks were missing, this navigation system nearly stopped functioning, while another brain region appeared to step in and compensate.”
Borrowed from Latin compēnsātus, perfect passive participle of compensō (“to weight together one thing against another, balance, make good”), -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.