Compromising

How to spell compromising

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce compromising

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does compromising mean?

1. verbSettling a dispute by mutual concession, with each side giving up part of its demands.
2. adjectiveRevealing an embarrassing or incriminating secret that exposes someone to scandal or suspicion.
3. verbWeakening, endangering, or undermining the integrity or safety of something.

Compromising in a sentence

• verb

  By compromising on the deadline, both teams reached a workable plan.

• adjective

  The journalist obtained compromising emails that ended the minister's career.

• verb

  Installing unverified software risks compromising the entire network.

• verb

  She was tired of always compromising to keep the peace at home.

• adjective

  He was caught in a compromising position with the company's missing funds.

• verb

  Cutting corners on inspections means compromising passenger safety.

Where does compromising come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin compromittere, which meant 'to make a mutual promise', built from com- meaning 'together' and promittere meaning 'to send forth' or 'to promise' (itself pro- 'forward' plus mittere 'to send'). In Roman legal practice a compromissum was an agreement by two disputing parties to abide by the decision of an arbitrator, so the sense of give-and-take was present from the very start. English took the word through Old French compromis in the fifteenth century, first as a noun for a settlement and then as a verb for reaching one by mutual concession. From there it grew a darker branch: to 'compromise' someone came to mean exposing them to suspicion or danger, which is why a 'compromising' situation is an embarrassing one. The spelling trap is the unstressed middle: writers hear 'comprom-' and may drop letters, but the -mise spelling preserves the old promise inside it, and the s is pronounced like a z.

How the word is built

• com- (together)
• promis- (from Latin promittere: to promise)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)