Indemnify
To compensate (someone) for harm or loss; to secure (someone) against legal responsibility for their actions.
Specifically refers to protecting against or compensating for financial loss or legal liability. It's about making someone 'whole' again after a loss, or preventing them from suffering a loss in the first place.
Word relationships
- Compensate: To give someone something, typically money, in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury.
- Reimburse: To repay (a person who has spent or lost money).
- Secure: To protect against threats; to make safe.
- Damage: To cause physical harm to something.
- Harm: Physical injury, especially that which is deliberately inflicted.
Commonly confused with
- Compensate: 'Compensate' is a broader term for making up for a loss; 'indemnify' specifically refers to protecting against or paying for a loss, often in a legal or contractual context.
Word family
- indemnity (noun): security or protection against a loss or other financial burden; compensation for loss or harm
Collocations
- indemnify against loss
- indemnify for damages
- indemnify a party
- indemnity clause
Example sentences
- "The agreement stipulated that the contractor would indemnify the client against any losses incurred due to negligence." In a contract, protecting one party from loss.
- "Insurance policies are designed to indemnify policyholders against financial risks like property damage or medical expenses." Describing an insurance policy's function.
- "The government promised to indemnify its citizens for any property seized during the emergency." Referring to a government's promise of protection.
Memory hook
To INDEMNIFY is to ensure IN-DEMN (no damn) harm comes to you, or to pay for it if it does. IN-DEMN-ify: No DAMN loss.
When not to use
Do not use 'indemnify' for general apologies or non-financial forms of making amends. It's a precise legal and financial term.
Fun facts
- The word 'damage' (as in harm or injury) comes from the same Latin root damnum ('loss, harm'), highlighting the direct connection to preventing or repairing loss.
Related words
Explore more words
indemnification, indemnity, compensate, reimbursement, insurance, restitution
Also appears in
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