requital

noun

re·​quit·​al ri-ˈkwī-tᵊl How to pronounce requital (audio)
1
: something given in return, compensation, or retaliation
2
: the act or action of requiting : the state of being requited

Examples of requital in a Sentence

the judge ordered the landlord to pay his former tenants $100,000 each as requital for goods lost or damaged in the apartment fire the electrician's requital for the used car was in the form of work on the dealer's house
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But criminal fines on companies — and on some individuals — have reached stratospheric heights, and that’s partly because the prospect of requital and deterrence seemed to require it. Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 12 June 2024 The Trumpist version, however, begins and ends with the vision of a great leader on the brink of sinister overthrow and martyrdom—whose great love for the scorned nation behind him urgently requires immediate requital and redemption. Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 11 Jan. 2021 And reminding them that requital of a debt is the purest form of acknowledging that debt. William F. Buckley Jr., National Review, 26 Nov. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of requital was in 1545

Dictionary Entries Near requital

Cite this Entry

“Requital.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/requital. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

requital

noun
re·​quit·​al ri-ˈkwīt-ᵊl How to pronounce requital (audio)
1
: something given in payment or in return
2
: the act or action of requiting : the state of being requited
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!