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You might be familiar with the phrase "unrequited love." Love that has not been requited is love that has not been returned or paid back in kind, which brings us to the common denominator in the above definitions for requite—the idea of repayment, recompense, or retribution. The quite in requite is a now obsolete English verb meaning "to quit" or "to pay." (Quite is also related to the English verb quit, the oldest meanings of which include "to pay up" and "to set free.") Quiten, the Middle English source of quite, can be traced back through Anglo-French to Latin quietus, meaning "quiet" or "at rest," a word which is also an ancestor of the English word quiet.
Synonyms
Examples of requite in a Sentence
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
Dictionary Entries Near requite
Cite this Entry
“Requite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/requite. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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