reparation
Payment for wrongdoing
Reparation is the act of making amends for a wrong or injury—restoring what was damaged or compensating for harm done.
In the plural, reparations usually refers to payments or other compensation demanded from a defeated nation after war, or more recently, proposed payments to descendants of enslaved people: The debate over reparations for slavery continues.
The word carries both the practical sense of repair and the moral weight of atonement.
Restoring what was lost
- indemnityProtection against financial loss
- damagesCompensation for injury
- paymentFulfilling a financial obligation
- settlementResolved dispute or colony
reimbursement · payout · recompense · redress · amends · refund · remuneration · recoupment
Satisfying demands to prevent conflict
- conciliationResolving disputes through dialogue
- placationCalming hostile feelings
- mollificationAct of calming anger
- pacificationRestoring calm after conflict
compromise · restoration · healing · rapprochement · mediation · settlement · peace · forgiveness
Statement acknowledging wrongdoing
- admissionEntry or confession
- recognitionPerceiving something as known
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
responsibility · atonement · contrition · remorse · regret · acceptance · concession · repentance
Ownership of people
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
- descendantsThose who come after
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
redlining · dispossession · atrocities · genocide · internment · apartheid · segregation · exploitation
Restoring damaged items
- fixingRestoring proper function
- rebuildingConstructing anew after destruction
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
- renewalMaking current again
rehabilitation · renovation · refurbishment · reconditioning · patching · remediation · reclamation · conservation
Civil court proceeding
- tribunalJudicial decision-making body
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
- verdictOfficial court decision
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
plaintiff · defendant · judgment · litigation · court · settlement · statute · precedent
restitution
Restoring what was lost
- indemnityProtection against financial loss
- damagesCompensation for injury
- paymentFulfilling a financial obligation
settlement · reimbursement · payout · recompense · redress · amends · refund · remuneration · recoupment · disbursement
appeasement
Satisfying demands to prevent conflict
- conciliationResolving disputes through dialogue
- placationCalming hostile feelings
- mollificationAct of calming anger
pacification · compromise · restoration · healing · rapprochement · mediation · settlement · peace · forgiveness · absolution
apology
Statement acknowledging wrongdoing
- admissionEntry or confession
- recognitionPerceiving something as known
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
accountability · responsibility · atonement · contrition · remorse · regret · acceptance · concession · repentance · penitence
slavery
Ownership of people
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- restitutionRestoring what was lost
- descendantsThose who come after
injustice · redlining · dispossession · atrocities · genocide · internment · apartheid · segregation · exploitation · legacy
mending
Restoring damaged items
- fixingRestoring proper function
- rebuildingConstructing anew after destruction
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
renewal · rehabilitation · renovation · refurbishment · reconditioning · patching · remediation · reclamation · conservation · preservation
lawsuit
Civil court proceeding
- tribunalJudicial decision-making body
- claimStatement of ownership or truth
- verdictOfficial court decision
adjudication · plaintiff · defendant · judgment · litigation · court · settlement · statute · precedent · damages
- apologiessorry, forgive me, my mistake, mea culpa, sincere apology
- forgivenessforgiveness of sins, redemption, absolve, mercy, grace
- Making amendsamends, apology, atonement, compensation, penance
- taking responsibilityowning up, admitting fault, confessing, apologizing, accountability
- assuranceassurance, assure, prime, franchise, attestation
- atonementpropitiation, substitution, reconciler, forgiveness, sin offering
reparationdamage
Harm or impairment
destruction · injury · harm · violation · devastation
reparationtheft
Unlawful taking of property
robbery · extortion · plunder · looting · exploitation
reparationpunishment
Penalty for an offense
penalty · retribution · vengeance · retaliation · impunity
- war reparationsCompensation from defeated nation
- slavery reparationsCompensation for ancestral enslavement
- wartime reparationsCompensation from defeated nations
- post-war reparationsPayments demanded from vanquished nations
- reparation paymentsCompensation for wrongs done
- financial reparationsCompensatory payment for injury