What does "requite" mean?
Chiefly in the form in requite for or of: synonym of requital (“compensation for damage or loss; return in kind, recompense, repayment, reward”).
Requite
/ɹɪˈkwaɪt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Chiefly in the form in requite for or of: synonym of requital (“compensation for damage or loss; return in kind, recompense, repayment, reward”).
- Grammar: requite is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: alternate, amend, amends, atone.
- Useful contrasts: deescalate, forgive, ignore.
- Usage evidence: "Nor in my madness kept my purpose low, / but vowed, if e'er should happier chance invite, / and bring me home a conqueror, even so / my comrade's death with vengeance to requite. / My words aroused his wrath; thence evil's earliest blight. / Thenceforth Ulysses sought with slanderous tongue / to daunt me, scattering in the people's ear / dark hints, and looked for partners of his wrong; / nor rested, till with Calchas' aid, the seer..."
How to use "requite"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "requite" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "requite" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "requite" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "requite" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "requite" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "alternate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "requite", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Chiefly in the form in requite for or of: synonym of requital (“compensation for damage or loss; return in kind, recompense, repayment, reward”).
Verb
- 1 To repay (a debt owed); specifically, to recompense or reward someone for (a favour, a service rendered, etc.) transitive
"But remember / (For that's my buſineſſe to you) that you three / From Millaine did ſupplant good Proſpero, / Expos'd vnto the Sea (vvhich hath requit it) / Him, and his innocent childe: for vvhich foule deed, / The Povvres, delaying (not forgetting) haue / Incens'd the Seas, and Shores; yea, all the Creatures / Againſt your peace: […]"
- 2 make repayment for or return something wordnet
- 3 To repay (someone) a debt owed; specifically, to recompense or reward (someone) for a favour, a service rendered, etc. transitive
"Sir I am ſo poore to requite you, you muſt looke for nothing but thankes of me, […]"
- 4 To respond to or reciprocate (feelings, especially affection or love which has been shown). transitive
"My loue is requyted ſo louyngly / That in euery thyng that may delyght my mynde, / My wyt can not wyſhe it ſo well as I fynde"
- 5 To do or give a thing in return for (something). transitive
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 To retaliate or seek revenge for (an insult, a wrong, etc.).; to avenge. transitive
"Let me this craue, ſith firſt I vvas defyde, / That firſt I may that vvrong to him requite: / And if I hap to fayle, you ſhall recure my right."
- 7 To retaliate or seek revenge against (someone) for an insult, a wrong, etc.; also (reflexive, rare), to seek revenge for (oneself). transitive
"My Gratious Lord, not ſo much for the iniury hée offred me héere in your preſence, as to delight you with ſome mirth, hath Fauſtus worthily requited this iniurious knight, which being all I deſire, I am content to releaſe him of his hornes: […]"
- 8 To greet (someone) in return. obsolete, transitive
"They him ſaluted ſtanding far afore; / VVho vvell them greeting, humbly did requight, / And asked, to vvhat end they clomb that tedious hight."
- 9 To make up for (something); to compensate. obsolete, transitive
- 10 To respond to (a question, a statement, etc.). obsolete, transitive
"Jeſus […] requited their queſtion vvith an other, as though a man ſhoulde dryue out one nayle vvith an other."
- 11 To take the place of (someone or something); to replace. obsolete, transitive
"[For if] tranſmutation be made from one mans body into another, as if a piece of fleſh be exchanged from the biciptall muſcle of either parties arme, and about them both, an Alphabet circumſcribed; upon a time appointed as ſome conceptions affirme, they may communicate at vvhat diſtance ſoever. For if the one ſhall prick himſelf in A, the other at the ſame time vvill have a ſenſe thereof in the ſame part; […] vvhich is a vvay of intelligence very ſtrange, and vvould requite the Arte of Pythagoras; vvho could read a reverſe in the Moone."
- 12 Of an action, a quality, etc.: to be a reward for (itself). obsolete, reflexive, transitive
"'Tis all vve beg thee, to conceal from Sight / Thoſe Acts of Goodneſs, vvhich themſelves requite."
- 13 To recompense, to repay. intransitive
- 14 To retaliate, to seek revenge. intransitive
"[…] Chriſt and his holy apoſtles, exhort euery man to pacience and ſufferance, without requiting of an euil dede or making anye defence but vſing further ſufferance, & doyng alſo good for euill, […]"
Antonyms
Example
""Nor in my madness kept my purpose low, / but vowed, if e'er should happier chance invite, / and bring me home a conqueror, even so / my comrade's death with vengeance to requite. / My words aroused his wrath; thence evil's earliest blight. / Thenceforth Ulysses sought with slanderous tongue / to daunt me, scattering in the people's ear / dark hints, and looked for partners of his wrong; / nor rested, till with Calchas' aid, the seer...""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "requite"?
Common synonyms include: alternate, amend, amends, atone, avenge, avenge.
How do you use "requite" in a sentence?
"Nor in my madness kept my purpose low, / but vowed, if e'er should happier chance invite, / and bring me home a conqueror, even so / my comrade's death with vengeance to requite. / My words aroused his wrath; thence evil's earliest blight. / Thenceforth Ulysses sought with slanderous tongue / to daunt me, scattering in the people's ear / dark hints, and looked for partners of his wrong; / nor rested, till with Calchas' aid, the seer..."
How do you pronounce "requite"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈkwaɪt/.
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English requiten (“to repay”), and then partly from both of the following: * From re- (prefix meaning ‘again; back, backward’) + quiten (“to pay, pay for; to repay; to acquit (someone of a charge), exonerate; to prove (oneself) innocent; to answer, reply; to atone for (a sin); to compensate, make amends; to depart, leave; to equal, match; to fulfil (an obligation); to give back, return; to give up, relinquish; to release, set free; to render (a service); to reward; to give retribution, take revenge”) (from Old French quitter (“to free, liberate”) (modern French quitter), from quitte (“free, liberated”) + -er (suffix forming verbs)). Quitte is derived from Latin quiētus (“at rest; quiet”), the perfect passive participle of quiēscō (“to repose, rest; to sleep; to be quiet or still”), from quiēs (“rest, repose; sleep; calm, peace, quiet”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“to rest; peace, rest”)) + -scō (suffix forming verbs with the sense ‘to begin to do [something]’). * From Old French requiter, requitter (“to free or liberate again”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + quitter (see above). The noun is derived from the verb.