✅ Minute technically refers to a period of sixty seconds, but can be used to refer to a longer or shorter length of time (Steep the coffee for one minute; It’ll take me a minute to do my hair).

✅ Moment emphasizes speed and shortness of time, and is generally considered shorter than a minute (Wait just a moment!).

✅ Saying you’ll do something in a minute or moment generally implies that it will be the next thing you do, or that you won’t start doing something else in the interim. But both are also used to refer to lengths of time longer than their strict definition (I’ll start class in a moment; I’ll go to the store in a minute).

✅ A hot minute can refer to either a short time or a really long time, and recently, the phrase it’s been a minute has become an informal way to say that it’s been a while since something has happened (Great to see you–it’s been a minute!).

Take a moment to check out these synonyms.

✅ Reward refers to something given in return for something done or achieved (a reward for good behavior).

✅ Recompense refers to something given or done in return for a service rendered (I bought my friends dinner in recompense for making them help me move into my new house).

✅ Reward and recompense both both can used for something negative—though the use of reward in this case would be ironic since it is usually positive (Getting bitten was my reward for rescuing the bird).

✅ Recompense can also be used to refer to something given in compensation for a loss or injury. In general, recompense emphasizes the idea of repaying someone for their efforts (His only recompense for the broken coffee machine was the fact that his coworkers were now as irritable as he was).

Your reward for reading this is these synonyms for recompense.

✅ Fair refers to treating all sides in a situation, argument, or dispute exactly the same (The captain was fair to all members of the crew).

✅ Impartial refers to treating all sides equally, and suggests judging the situation in order to come to a balanced conclusion (an impartial judge).

✅ Impartial suggests independence and a complete lack of bias. Fair suggests the intent to treat all sides the same, even if there is the potential for bias (He promised to be fair and not side with his friend automatically; We asked a stranger so that we got an impartial opinion).

✅ Impartial generally suggests some kind of formal judgment, whereas fair can be used in a wider variety of circumstances (The committee was impartial; My partner was fair in their judgment of my cupcakes).

Try writing about an impartial judge in a cooking competition with the help of our writing tool Grammar Coach.