Compromise

compromise
    n 1: a middle way between two extremes [syn: {compromise}, {via
         media}]
    2: an accommodation in which both sides make concessions; "the
       newly elected congressmen rejected a compromise because they
       considered it `business as usual'"
    v 1: make a compromise; arrive at a compromise; "nobody will get
         everything he wants; we all must compromise"
    2: settle by concession
    3: expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute;
       "The nuclear secrets of the state were compromised by the
       spy"
    

Compromise \Com"pro*mise\, v. i.
   1. To agree; to accord. [Obs.]
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   2. To make concession for conciliation and peace.
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Compromise \Com"pro*mise\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Compromised}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Compromising}.] [From {Compromise}, n.; cf.
   {Compromit}.]
   1. To bind by mutual agreement; to agree. [Obs.]
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            Laban and himself were compromised
            That all the eanlings which were streaked and pied
            Should fall as Jacob's hire.          --Shak.
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   2. To adjust and settle by mutual concessions; to compound.
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            The controversy may easily be compromised. --Fuller.
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   3. To pledge by some act or declaration; to endanger the
      life, reputation, etc., of, by some act which can not be
      recalled; to expose to suspicion.
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            To pardon all who had been compromised in the late
            disturbances.                         --Motley.
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Compromise \Com"pro*mise\, n. [F. compromis, fr. L. compromissum
   a mutual promise to abide by the decision of an arbiter, fr.
   compromittere to make such a promise; com- + promittere to
   promise. See {Promise}.]
   1. A mutual agreement to refer matters in dispute to the
      decision of arbitrators. [Obs.] --Burrill.
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   2. A settlement by arbitration or by mutual consent reached
      by concession on both sides; a reciprocal abatement of
      extreme demands or rights, resulting in an agreement.
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            But basely yielded upon compromise
            That which his noble ancestors achieved with blows.
                                                  --Shak.
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            All government, indeed every human benefit and
            enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act, is
            founded on compromise and barter.     --Burke.
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            An abhorrence of concession and compromise is a
            never failing characteristic of religious factions.
                                                  --Hallam.
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   3. A committal to something derogatory or objectionable; a
      prejudicial concession; a surrender; as, a compromise of
      character or right.
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            I was determined not to accept any fine speeches, to
            the compromise of that sex the belonging to which
            was, after all, my strongest claim and title to
            them.                                 --Lamb.
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COMPROMISE, n.  Such an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives
each adversary the satisfaction of thinking he has got what he ought
not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his
due.
    

COMPROMISE, contracts. An agreement between two or more persons, who, to 
avoid a lawsuit, amicably settle their differences, on such terms as they 
can agree upon. Vide Com. Dig. App. tit. Compromise. 
     2. It will be proper to consider, 1. by whom the compromise must be 
made; 2. its form; 3. the subject of the compromise; 4. its effects. 
     3. It must be made by a person having a right and capacity to enter 
into the contract, and carry out his part of it, or by one having lawful 
authority from such person. 
     4. The compromise may be by parol or in writing, and the writing may be 
under seal or not: though as a general rule a partner cannot bind his 
copartner by deed, unless expressly authorized, yet it would seem that a 
compromise with the principal is an act which a partner may do in behalf of 
his copartners, and that, though under seal, it would conclude the firm. 2 
Swanst. 539. 
     5. The compromise may relate to a civil claim, either as a matter of 
contract, or for a tort, but it must be of something uncertain; for if the 
debt be certain and undisputed, a payment of a part will not, of itself, 
discharge the whole. A claim connected with a criminal charge cannot be 
compromised. 1 Chit. Pr. 17. See Nev. & Man. 275. 
     6. The compromise puts an end to the suit, if it be proceeding, and 
bars any Suit which may afterwards be instituted. It has the effect of res 
judicata. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 798-9. 
     7. In the civil law, a compromise is an agreement between two or more 
persons, who, wishing to settle their disputes, refer the matter, in 
controversy to arbitrators, who are so called because those who choose them 
give them full powers to arbitrate and decide what shall appear just and 
reasonable, to put an end -to the differences of which they are made the 
judges. 1 Domat, Lois Civ. lib. h.t. 14. Vide Submission; Ch. Pr. Index, h.t.
    

158 Moby Thesaurus words for "compromise":
      Eisenhower Doctrine, Monroe Doctrine, Nixon Doctrine,
      Truman Doctrine, accommodate, accommodation, adjust, adjustment,
      agreement, amends, appeasement, arrange matters, arrangement,
      atonement, balance of power, bargain, blast, blight,
      bring to terms, bring together, brinkmanship, center, coexistence,
      colonialism, compact, compensation, compose, composition,
      composition of differences, compound, containment, contract, cool,
      cop out, detente, deterrence, diplomacy, diplomatic, diplomatics,
      dollar diplomacy, dollar imperialism, duck responsibility,
      encounter danger, endanger, evade responsibility, expansionism,
      expiation, expiatory offering, expose, fence, fix up,
      foreign affairs, foreign policy, gamble, gamble with,
      give and take, give way, go fifty-fifty, golden mean,
      good-neighbor policy, half measures, half-and-half measures,
      halfway measures, happy medium, harmonize, hazard, heal the breach,
      imperialism, imperil, incur danger, indemnification, indemnity,
      internationalism, isolationism, jeopard, jeopardize, jeopardy,
      lay open, make a deal, make an adjustment, make concessions,
      making amends, making good, making right, making up,
      manifest destiny, mar, mean, mediate, medium, meet halfway, menace,
      middle course, middle ground, middle way, militarism, moderateness,
      moderation, nationalism, neocolonialism, neutral ground,
      neutralism, nonresistance, open door, open-door policy, pact,
      patch things up, peace offensive, peace offering,
      peaceful coexistence, peril, piaculum, play havoc with,
      play politics, preparedness, propitiation, put in danger,
      put in jeopardy, put in tune, queer, quittance, reach a compromise,
      reclamation, recompense, reconcile, redemption, redress,
      reparation, resolution, resolve, restitution, restore harmony,
      reunite, risk, ruin, satisfaction, settle, settle differences,
      settlement, shirt-sleeve diplomacy, shuttle diplomacy,
      smooth it over, spheres of influence, split the difference, spoil,
      squaring, strike a balance, strike a bargain, surrender,
      take the mean, terms, the big stick, tough policy, understanding,
      via media, weave peace between, world politics, yield