restitution
nounUK /ˌɹɛstɪˈtjuːʃən/ · US /ˌɹɛstɪˈtuʃən/
Etymology From Old French restitucion, from Latin restitutio. By surface analysis, restitute + -ion.
1
Law A process of compensation for losses.
2
The act of making good or compensating for loss or injury.
- A restitution of ancient rights unto the crown.1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:
- He […]restitution to the value makes.1636, G[eorge] S[andys], “(please specify the page)”, in A Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David. And upon the Hymnes Dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments, London: [Andrew Hebb […]], →OCLC:
3
A return or restoration to a previous condition or position.
- the restitution of an elastic body
- The force–displacement curve of perfectly plastic contact partners does not show elastic restitution.2011, Evangelos Tsotsas with Arun S. Mujumdar, Modern Drying Technology, Experimental Techniques - Page 314:
4
That which is offered or given in return for what has been lost, injured, or destroyed; compensation.
- Valery Kulishov, Russia's restitution director, pledged his country's assistance in obtaining restitution for individual victims, and turned over three secret documents bearing on stolen or missing artworks.1998 December 19, “Restitution and the Problem of Stolen Art”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 09 Jul 2021:
- “Restitution is a very delicate issue,” says Erika Jakubovits, head of restitution for the Jewish community in Vienna.2024 May 4, Melanie Gerlies, quoting Erika Jakubovits, “New claimant to €35 mn Klimt emerges”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18:
1 more example
- Last year, a US appeals court upheld the convictions of Holmes and Theranos President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. It also upheld the $452 million in restitution that Holmes and Balwani were ordered to pay to victims.2026 January 21, Clare Duffy, Hadas Gold, “Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump to let her out of prison early”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 23 Jan 2026:
5
Medicine, Sciences The movement of rotation which usually occurs in childbirth after the head has been delivered, and which causes the latter to point towards the side to which it was directed at the beginning of labour.
- Synonyms
- reddition, render, rendition, restitution, restoration, return, surrender
- Antonyms
- taking
- Derived terms
- coefficient of restitution, e-restitution, nonrestitution, re-restitution, restitutional, restitutionary, restitutionism, restitutionist
- Related terms
- restitute
- Hypernyms
- bestowal
- Hyponyms
- reparation, atonement, compensation, indemnification