Skip to main content

Reparation vs Redress vs Amends vs Restitution vs Indemnity

Reparation, redressamendsrestitutionindemnity are comparable when they mean a return for something lost or suffered, usually through the fault of another.

Reparation implies an attempt to restore things to their normal or sound condition. It is chiefly applied to recompense for material losses or damages or reimbursement for repairs, but it is applied also to atonement for an offense, especially one incurring injury to others.

Redress heightens the implications of a grievance and therefore connotes compensation or satisfaction, or even, at times, retaliation or vengeance.

Amends is as strong as redress in its suggestion of due satisfaction but weaker in its implication of a grievance. It often implies a correction or restoration of a just balance.

Restitution implies the restoration in kind or in value of what has been unlawfully taken.

Indemnity is the specific term for money given (as by an insurance company) in reparation for losses (as from fire, accident, illness, or disaster) or for payments made by a defeated country for losses caused by war.