requited; requiting

transitive verb

1
a
: to make return for : repay
b
: to make retaliation for : avenge
2
: to make suitable return to for a benefit or service or for an injury
requiter noun

Did you know?

Requite is most familiar in the phrase “unrequited love.” Love that has not been requited is love that has not been returned or paid back in kind. Indeed, the idea of repayment undergirds all the senses of the verb requite, which include the most common sense of “to repay” (usually applied to amorous affection or feeling), “to avenge,” and “to make suitable return to for a benefit or service, or for an injury.” The quite in requite is a now-obsolete English verb meaning “to make full payment of” or “to pay.” (The verb's ultimate root is Latin quietus, meaning “quiet; at rest.”) This quite is also related to the English verb quit, the oldest meanings of which include “to pay up” and “to set free.”

Choose the Right Synonym for requite

reciprocate, retaliate, requite, return mean to give back usually in kind or in quantity.

reciprocate implies a mutual or equivalent exchange or a paying back of what one has received.

reciprocated their hospitality by inviting them for a visit

retaliate usually implies a paying back of injury in exact kind, often vengefully.

the enemy retaliated by executing their prisoners

requite implies a paying back according to one's preference and often not equivalently.

requited her love with cold indifference

return implies a paying or giving back.

returned their call
return good for evil

Examples of requite in a Sentence

the company requited the employee who had fallen on the ice while leaving work by promptly paying all his medical bills, hoping that would stave off a lawsuit the future writer would later requite the abuse he suffered at the hands of his classmates by creating scathing portraits of them in his novels
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.
Reflecting Lee’s turmoil as he’s tormented by heroin withdrawals and his not entirely requited affection for Allerton, the film is moody, and the sets reflect the interior landscapes of its characters. Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 16 Dec. 2024 In the book, the main character falls in love with an android that only pretends to requite his feelings. IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

re- + obsolete quite to quit, pay, from Middle English quiten — more at quit entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of requite was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near requite

Cite this Entry

“Requite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/requite. Accessed 1 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

requited; requiting
1
: to make return for : repay
2
: to make suitable return to for a service or an injury
requited her for her help
requiter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on requite

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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