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As I'm no native speaker, I wonder about the usage for compensate. I'm writing a title of a paper. Is it:

"Compensating for X Effects"

or

"Compensating X Effects" ?

In this case I want to express that the methods introduced in the paper decrease/get rid off the "X effects". The second one sounds to me as if the "effects" would get some kind of compensation. Yet, I'm not sure.

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  • I think you might want to check the precise definition of compensate. It definitely doesn't mean get rid of. You might be better off sticking to decrease, or similar (reduce, counteract, etc.), where at least you already know the word. Jun 3, 2011 at 20:14

1 Answer 1

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The New Oxford American Dictionary has an example of the meaning you're using:

compensate
[among others]
• act to neutralize or correct (a deficiency or abnormality in a physical property or effect): the output voltage rises, compensating for the original fall.

It used transitively to mean “recompense someone for loss, suffering, or injury” (same source). Example: Pakistan to Compensate Victims of U.S. Airstrike.

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