An oil spill has caused an environmental disaster.

Compensate.

A Japanese owned ship struck a coral reef in the Indian Ocean in late July.

Two weeks later, the government of Mauritius declared a state of environmental emergency.

Scientists say the oil cleanup will be costly.

The ship's owners said steps will be taken to compensate Mauritius for the damages.

In this example, compensate means to pay for something that has been wrongly damaged.

It also means to act in a way that corrects an imbalance.

Go to our website form or news words mhm.