Basic Details
Word: Compensation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Money or something else given to make up for a loss, injury or harm. It can also mean something good that balances out something bad.
Synonyms: payment, damages, amends, reimbursement
How to Spell Compensation
Syllables: com - pen - sa - tion
Tricky part: The vowel after p is an e, compen-, though in speech it can sound like compan- or compin-. The ending is -sation with a plain s.
Watch out for: compansation, compinsation, compensasion
Memory tip: Compensation contains pen and sat: com + pen + sat + ion. Picture a clerk who took a pen and sat down to write the cheque.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The farmers received compensation for the crops lost in the hailstorm.
Example 2: As compensation for the cancelled show, the theatre gave everyone two free tickets.
Example 3: His quick wit is some compensation for his terrible handwriting.
Fun Fact
Compensate comes from Latin compensare, to weigh one thing against another, from the picture of balancing the two pans of a scale.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
comp_ns_tion
a) e, a
b) i, a
c) a, a
d) e, i
Show answer
a) e, a. Compensate gives compen- with an e, and its a stays in -sation.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word compensation as used in the sentence:
The airline paid each passenger compensation after their luggage was lost.
a) taxes
b) fees
c) fines
d) damages
Show answer
d) damages. Damages is money paid to make up for a loss, which is just what the airline paid.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. insurence 2. reimbersement 3. compensation 4. liabelity
a) money given to make up for a loss or injury
b) paying back money that someone has already spent
c) an arrangement that pays for losses in return for regular payments
d) legal responsibility for something
Show answer
a) money given to make up for a loss or injury. Insurance, reimbursement and liability each carry one wrong vowel in the list; compensation has none.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Someone who overcompensates for a mistake ____.
a) blames others for it
b) forgets about it
c) tries too hard to make up for it
d) repeats it on purpose
Show answer
c) tries too hard to make up for it
2. The verb that compensation comes from is ____.
a) compete
b) compensate
c) complete
d) compose
Show answer
b) compensate
