✅ 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.

✅ Deny refers to asserting that something is untrue (deny the accusation).

✅ Contradict refers to asserting that the opposite is true (She contradicted his story).

✅ Deny refers to simply saying that something is untrue, whereas contradict suggests giving an alternate, truthful account (The journalist denied having made up the story; I contradicted his version of events).

✅ Deny is usually used in response to an accusation, and is most often used in legal or other, similar, formal contexts. Contradict is used in a variety of circumstances.

Write about a time you contradicted someone, with the help of our Grammar Coach.