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Compensate vs Substitute - What's the difference?

compensate | substitute |

As verbs the difference between compensate and substitute

is that compensate is to pay or reward someone in exchange for work done or some other consideration while substitute is to use in place of something else, with the same function.

As a noun substitute is

a replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.

compensate

English

Verb

(compensat)
  • To pay or reward someone in exchange for work done or some other consideration.
    • It is hard work, but they will compensate you well for it.
  • (ambitransitive) To make up for; to do something in place of something else; to correct, satisfy; to reach an agreement such that the scales are literally]] or ([[metaphor, metaphorically) balanced; to equalize or make even.
    • His loud voice cannot compensate for a lack of personality.
    To compensate me for his tree landing on my shed, my neighbor paved my driveway.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • The length of the night and the dews thereof do compensate the heat of the day.
  • * Prior
    • The pleasures of life do not compensate the miseries.
  • To adjust or adapt to a change, often a harm or deprivation.
    • I don't like driving that old car because it always steers a little to the left so I'm forever compensating for that when I drive it. Trust me, it gets annoying real fast.
    To compensate for his broken leg, Gary uses crutches.

    Derived terms

    * compensation * compensatory * recompense * recompensate

    Related terms

    * compensable * compensably

    Synonyms

    1. To pay * guerdon * reimburse to pay back 2. To make up for, correct, satisfy, or equalize, to balance the scales, to equalize or make even.
    * equate * offset * redeem * accord * reconcile * harmonize * atone * indemnify * requite * rectify * level * resolve * * amend * expiate * redress * remedy * remunerate * appease * restitute and restitution
    3. To adjust to a change.
    * acclimatize and acclimate * accommodate * accustom * adapt * accord * counterbalance * counteract * integrate * attune

    External links

    * * ----

    substitute

    English

    Verb

    (substitut)
  • To use in place of something else, with the same function.
    • I had no shallots so I substituted onion.
  • In the phrase "substitute X for Y", to use X in place of Y. With increasing frequency used in the semantically opposite sense (see the OED's notes).
    • I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.
  • In the phrase "substitute X with/by Y", to use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y
    • I had to substitute old parts with the new ones. (This usage was formerly proscribed.)
  • (sports) To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.
    • He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=April 11 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Mario Balotelli replaced Tevez but his contribution was so negligible that he suffered the indignity of being substituted himself as time ran out, a development that encapsulated a wretched 90 minutes for City and boss Roberto Mancini. }}
  • To serve as a replacement (for someone or something)
  • * 1987 , , Essays in Economics, Vol. 2 , p. 75
    • Accumulation of wealth by this route may substitute for personal saving.

    Usage notes

    The verb "to substitute" can be used transitively in two opposite ways. "To substitute X" may mean either "use X in place of something else" (as in definitions 1 and 2), or "use something else in place of X" (as in definitions 3 and 4). The latter use is more recent, but it is widespread and now generally accepted (see the COED's note on the matter). However, if the indirect object (the "something else") is omitted, the preposition is also omitted, and the reader or hearer cannot tell which sense is meant: * "Substitute butter for olive oil" = Use butter instead of olive oil * "Substitute olive oil for butter" = Use olive oil instead of butter * "Substitute butter" = ??? * "Substitute olive oil" = ???

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.
  • * De Quincey
    • Ladies [in Shakespeare's age] wore masks as the sole substitute known to our ancestors for the modern parasol.
  • (sports) A player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=David Ornstein , title=Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Dean Whitehead opened the scoring shortly after the break with a low finish and substitute Peter Crouch sealed the win with a tap-in.}}
  • (historical) One who enlists for military service in the place of a conscript.

    • Synonyms

    * See also