reparations
8 synonyms for reparations, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Payments or other compensation made to a group of people, usually by a state or institution, for a historical injustice done to them or their ancestors, such as slavery, colonial rule or genocide.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
Payments or other compensation made to a group of people, usually by a state or institution, for a historical injustice done to them or their ancestors, such as slavery, colonial rule or genocide.
“Campaigners are demanding reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.”
2. noun
Money and goods a defeated country is required to pay to the victors after a war to cover the damage it caused.
“The Treaty of Versailles imposed crushing reparations on Germany.”
3. noun usually singular: reparation
The act of making amends for a wrong you have done.
“He offered to work weekends as reparation for the damage.”
How to use reparations
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Formal; frequent in political, legal and historical writing.
Etymology
From Latin reparare "to restore, repair", from re- "again" and parare "to make ready".
Full origin of reparations →