【Pay】 ,  【compensate】 ,  【remunerate】 ,  【satisfy】 ,  【reimburse】 ,  【indemnify】 ,  【repay】 ,  【recompense】  are comparable when they mean to give money or an equivalent in return for something.

【Pay】 is the ordinary term when the giving or furnishing of money to discharge an obligation (as for services rendered or goods delivered) is implied.

When, in extended use,  【pay】 does not imply the actual giving of money, the term is often employed purely as a figure of speech or it means merely to give as due or deserved or to give in the hope of a return in kind.

【Compensate】  is often preferred to  【pay】 when no legal obligation is implied or no payment for services is expected, because the term stresses a return, usually in money, that is regarded as an equivalent for a service given or for trouble taken or time spent.

In this sense (see also  【COMPENSATE】 1 )  【compensate】 often does not imply an obligation to another or the passing of money; it often suggests a counterbalancing (as of something unpleasant by something pleasant or of something lost by something gained).

【Remunerate】 , like  【pay】 , usually implies the discharge of an obligation in money and, like  【compensate】 , usually suggests the giving of an equivalent for services rendered rather than for goods delivered, but unlike both of these terms it often carries a suggestion, sometimes a mere hint, sometimes a distinct implication, of a reward. Both  【compensate】  and  【remunerate】  can replace  【pay】  when  【pay】 might seem offensive or indelicate.

【Satisfy】  (see also  【SATISFY】 1 & 3 ) implies the payment of something that is asked, demanded, or required especially by the terms of the law or the decree of a court.

【Reimburse】 implies a return for money that has been expended by oneself in hope of making a profit or by another (as one's agent or attorney) in doing one's business.

【Indemnify】 implies promised or actual reimbursement for loss (as by fire), for injury (as by accident), or for damage (as by war or disaster).

But  【indemnify】  may approach  【compensate】 and implies less a reimbursing than a counterbalancing.

【Repay】  and  【recompense】 carry a weaker implication of giving or furnishing money than any of the preceding terms and a stronger implication of returning like for like; both therefore stress the demands of justice and usually the compulsion of an obligation.

When the passing of money or of an equivalent is implied,  【repay】 may be preferred when there is a suggestion of giving something back that has been paid out to one and  【recompense】 when compensation for voluntary services or for losses or injuries sustained is suggested and a due or adequate return is implied.

But  【repay】  and  【recompense】  sometimes imply reciprocation of something given, advanced, or inflicted.  【Repay】 usually implies little more than paying back in kind or amount, but it is sometimes used when the return is not what might be expected but is its diametrical opposite.

【Recompense】 often in this extended sense specifically implies a desire to make amends or to atone for a wrong that has been inflicted.