ENGLISH
REFERENCE

redress

n. uncountable
C1 Advanced US //ˈɹidɹɛs// re·dress Archaic

n. money or help that you get to make up for a mistake or something unfair that happened to you. It is a way to fix a wrong situation.

n. remedy or compensation for a wrong or grievance. Often refers to legal or financial restitution intended to restore equity after an injury or loss.


SIMPLE

The company offered financial redress to the affected customers.

CONTEXTUAL

Victims of the data breach are seeking legal redress through a class-action lawsuit against the tech firm.

COMPLEX

The treaty included specific provisions for the redress of historical grievances, ensuring that displaced communities received both formal apologies and territorial restoration.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English redressen, from Anglo-Norman radresser, redrescer, redrescier and Middle French redresser (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again; to rebuild, to repair something damaged, to rectify, to restore; to obtain redress; to cure; (of hair) to stand on end; to revise a judgment”) (modern French redresser), from Old French redrecier (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again”), from Old French re- (“again, once more”) (from Latin re-, from Proto-Italic wre (“again”); further etymology uncertain) + Old French drechier, drecier, dresser (“to dress; to stand up”) (from Vulgar Latin drēctiāre, a contracted form of *dīrēctiāre, from Latin dīrēctus (“straight”)). Compare Catalan redreçar, Spanish redreçar (obsolete), Italian redreçare, redrezare, redricciare, ridirizzare (all obsolete), ridrizzare, Late Latin redressare (“to repair; to set right”), Old Occitan redreisar, redresar.

Etymology 2

From re- + dress.

Usage

Often appears in the phrase 'seek redress' or 'redress of grievances'.

Pitfall

seek a redressseek redressIn its most common sense of compensation or remedy, the word is uncountable and does not take an indefinite article.

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