reparation
0 antonyms and opposites of reparation, grouped by meaning.
Noun — Payment or other compensation made to people who have been wronged, especially by a state to a group it has harmed. Usually plural: reparations.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
Payment or other compensation made to people who have been wronged, especially by a state to a group it has harmed. Usually plural: reparations.
“Campaigners have long demanded reparations for slavery.”
2. noun
The act of making up for a wrong you have done.
“He spent years trying to make reparation to the family he had injured.”
How to use reparation
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Formal, and strongly associated with historical and political injustice — slavery, colonisation, war. The plural reparations is far more common than the singular.
Etymology
Via Old French from Late Latin reparatio, from reparare 'to repair, restore'.
Full origin of reparation →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between reparations and restitution?
Restitution means giving back the specific thing that was taken — land, property, artefacts. Reparations is broader: it covers compensation for harm that cannot simply be handed back, such as lives lost or generations of lost opportunity, and is typically paid in money or programmes.
Are reparations always money?
No. Reparations packages can include formal apologies, land transfers, education and health funding, memorials and citizenship rights. Cash payments are the most discussed form but not the only one.
What is the difference between reparation and preparation?
They are unrelated. Reparation is making up for a wrong; preparation is getting ready for something. The similar spelling is a common typo.