requite

verb

re·​quite ri-ˈkwīt 

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.”

Synonyms

• compensate
• indemnify
• recompense
• recoup
• remunerate
• satisfy

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

In the book, the main character falls in love with an android that only pretends to requite his feelings. —IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023

But his love wasn’t always requited. —Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2023

Looks like the love Taylor Swift has for Grey’s Anatomy is fully requited! —Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 15 Feb. 2023

An intensity which can be called religious characterizes the devotion shown to their community by literally millions of people who routinely sacrifice — time, money, labor — to remark that devotion; and, using their own language, methods, and skills, to requite the community. —William F. Buckley Jr., National Review, 26 Nov. 2020

There’s a lot to requite my love. —Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 18 Aug. 2020

Employers ought to requite that trust by mandating that their staff who work indoors with other employees are vaccinated for Covid-19. —Zachary M. Seward, Quartz, 30 July 2021

Instead, the inciting incidents are all common or garden-variety romantic mishaps — infidelity, unplanned pregnancies, feelings undeclared lest they're not requited. —Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Jan. 2020

When the universal longing is finally requited, there is a sense of nationwide relief, bringing with it an almost immediate respite from the terrible heat. —New York Times, 31 Aug. 2019

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

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

requite

verb

re·​quite ri-ˈkwīt 

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