Compromise in a sentence usually names an agreement in which each side gives up something, though it can also put something at risk. As a noun it names the deal, as in “They reached a compromise”; as a verb it can mean both to settle by concession and to weaken or endanger. The context decides which.
Compromise at a glance
- Compromise is both a noun and a verb, with forms compromises, compromised and compromising.
- The settlement sense is intransitive or takes on; the risk sense is transitive and needs an object.
- Common subjects are sides, leaders, standards, safety, data and reputations.
- The word belongs to negotiation, law, medicine and everyday planning alike.
- The commonest error is confusing compromise with comprise, which means to consist of.
What does compromise mean?
Compromise is a noun meaning an agreement reached when each side gives up part of what it wanted, and a verb meaning either to settle in that way or to expose something to harm. The Cambridge entry for compromise records both, and the part of speech signals the sense: the settlement meaning is social, while the risk meaning is almost physical.
| Sense | Plain meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Noun: agreement | Each side gives up something to settle a dispute | The two sides reached a compromise on pay. |
| Verb: settle | To agree by each giving up part of a demand | They compromised over the weekend rota. |
| Verb: endanger | To weaken or put something at risk | The leak compromised the whole investigation. |
| Adjective: compromising | Revealing or embarrassing if seen | The photograph was deeply compromising. |
Compromise is not always a good outcome, which is the limitation learners miss. In its risk sense a compromised password is not a fair settlement but a broken one, and a compromising photograph is not a diplomatic one. Read the object: if something is weakened, the word carries no praise at all.
How do you use compromise in a sentence?
Use compromise with on when a standard is at stake, as a plain intransitive verb when both sides bend, and with a direct object when the meaning is to endanger. The six patterns below keep the settlement sense apart from the risk sense.
| Pattern | Example | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| side + compromise (intransitive) | Both sides compromised. | Neither side wins outright. |
| compromise on + noun | We never compromise on safety. | A principle or standard is at stake. |
| reach / strike a compromise | The leaders reached a compromise. | The noun names the agreement itself. |
| compromise + object (risk sense) | The delay compromised the results. | Something is weakened or put at risk. |
| be compromised | The witness felt compromised. | The person or thing is damaged. |
| a compromise between + A + and + B | a compromise between cost and speed | Two competing needs are balanced. |
Where the point is a single side giving ground, concession is the narrower noun, and where the process matters, negotiate is the verb. The test is reciprocity: a compromise needs both sides to move, while a concession needs only one.
Three collocations carry most of the word’s working life: reach a compromise, compromise on safety, and a fair compromise. To accommodate someone is to adjust to their needs, which may avoid a split of the difference altogether.
Compromise in a sentence: examples across contexts
Compromise changes meaning with its context more than almost any word of its length, so the ten sentences below move from a family kitchen to a security report. Each one makes clear whether something is being settled or endangered.
| Context | Example sentence | Why this works |
|---|---|---|
| Family | We reached a compromise about bedtime on school nights. | A concrete domestic dispute shows the settlement sense. |
| Classroom | The two teams compromised on where to hold the science fair. | Reciprocal giving is the point of the verb. |
| Workplace email | Management compromised on the deadline but kept the budget. | Names exactly what each side surrendered. |
| News report | Talks collapsed after neither party would compromise on tariffs. | Ties compromise on to a disputed standard. |
| Diplomatic writing | The treaty was a compromise between sovereignty and security. | The between pattern balances two competing needs. |
| Legal writing | Delaying disclosure compromised the defendant’s right to a fair trial. | Uses the risk sense with a direct object. |
| Medical report | A weak seal had compromised the sterile field. | Technical writing uses the endanger sense literally. |
| Security briefing | Reusing passwords compromised three accounts. | The object is a thing put at risk, not an agreement. |
| Sports commentary | The captain refused to compromise on fitness and dropped two players. | Shows compromise on guarding a standard. |
| Academic prose | Later editors compromised between the two surviving manuscripts. | The verb can describe balancing sources, not only people. |
| Project management | The schedule was a compromise between scope and delivery date. | The between pattern balances two hard constraints. |
| Customer service | The support team compromised by offering a partial refund. | The intransitive verb reports a settlement without naming both sides. |
Notice that only the first four sentences report a settlement. From the legal row onward, the verb means to weaken, and no reader would mistake the two senses once the object is named. The final two rows return to the settlement sense, which shows how quickly the context can flip back.
Compromise vs comprise and concession
Compromise is confused with comprise because the two verbs look alike, and it is contrasted with concession for the opposite reason: concession is one-sided, compromise is not. Where a system is at risk, jeopardize is often the clearer near-synonym.
| Attribute | compromise | comprise | concession |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core meaning | Settle by mutual giving, or endanger | Consist of, be made up of | Something yielded by one side |
| Part of speech | Noun and verb | Verb only | Noun |
| Typical construction | compromise on; compromise an object | the whole comprises the parts | make a concession to someone |
| Who moves | Both sides | Neither; it is a description | One side only |
| Register | Neutral to formal | Formal and technical | Formal and political |
| Common error | Writing comprise for the settlement sense | Writing is comprised of in careful prose | Calling a one-sided gift a compromise |
Verdict: choose compromise when both sides give ground or when something is put at risk, comprise only when a whole consists of parts, and concession when a single side yields. The balance between competing needs is what makes a compromise fair.
Word forms and grammar of compromise
Compromise behaves as both noun and verb, so its forms carry different jobs. The adjective compromising is the one learners misread, because it describes danger rather than agreement.
| Form | Part of speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| compromise | noun | a fair compromise |
| compromise | verb, base form | to compromise on pay |
| compromises | verb, third person singular | The plan compromises the river. |
| compromised | verb, past and past participle | The server was compromised overnight. |
| compromising | verb participle and adjective | a compromising photograph |
| compromiser | noun, rare | History remembers her as a compromiser. |
| comprise | verb — different meaning | The course comprises six modules. |
Common mistakes with compromise
- Incorrect:
The report compromises three sections.Correct: The report comprises three sections. Rule: Comprise means consist of; compromise means settle or endanger. - Incorrect:
The union refused to compromise on its members.Correct: The union refused to compromise on pay. Rule: Compromise on takes the disputed issue, not the people involved. - Incorrect:
They made a compromise each other.Correct: They reached a compromise with each other. Rule: Use reach or strike before the noun compromise. - Incorrect:
The virus compromised.Correct: The virus compromised her lungs. Rule: In the risk sense compromise is transitive and needs an object. - Incorrect:
The leak was a compromise of the data.Correct: The leak compromised the data. Rule: Prefer the verb when the point is that something was weakened.
Practice using compromise
Work through the six items, then read the reason beside each answer.
- Fill the gap: The neighbours finally ______ about where to build the fence.
- Choose the better word: Storing the keys online (compromised / comprised) the whole account.
- Correct the error: The team compromised on its players and kept training.
- Build a sentence: use reach a compromise about a school timetable.
- Spot the register: which belongs in a security report — the server was compromised, or the server got into a bit of a state?
- Rewrite with the noun: The two sides compromised over the budget. Use compromise as a noun instead.
Answers
- compromised — both neighbours gave ground, so the intransitive settlement sense fits.
- compromised — the account was put at risk; comprise would mean it consisted of something.
- The team compromised on its training schedule — compromise on takes the disputed issue, not the people.
- Model answer: The staff reached a compromise about the new timetable.
- The server was compromised — a security report uses the precise risk sense and the passive.
- The two sides reached a compromise over the budget — the noun needs a verb such as reach.
The bottom line
Use compromise in a sentence for an agreement in which both sides give ground, or for the weaker sense in which something is put at risk. The two details that decide most sentences are the preposition, since compromise on names the disputed issue, and the object, since a direct object usually signals danger rather than settlement. Where the meaning is simply endanger, jeopardize is often plainer. One test settles the ambiguity: if both sides can describe what they gave up, the word names a settlement rather than a loss.
Frequently asked questions about compromise
Is compromise a verb or a noun?
Compromise is both. As a noun it names the agreement itself, as in a fair compromise. As a verb it either describes settling by mutual giving, as in both sides compromised, or putting something at risk, as in the leak compromised the data. The object or preposition tells you which sense is intended.
What is the difference between compromise and comprise?
Compromise means to settle by each side giving ground, or to endanger something. Comprise means to consist of, as in the course comprises six modules. The two verbs look similar and are often swapped, but only comprise answers the question of what something is made of. They are never interchangeable.
Do you compromise on or compromise with?
Compromise on introduces the disputed issue, as in never compromise on safety. Compromise with introduces the other party, as in the council compromised with residents. A useful check is that on points at a standard and with points at a person or group across the table from you.
Can compromise mean something bad?
Yes. Alongside the settlement sense, compromise means to weaken or expose to risk, so a compromised account is broken, not balanced. A compromising photograph is embarrassing rather than fair. Read the object: when something is damaged, the word carries no praise and the sentence is closer to endanger or weaken.
