allowance

allowance 1 *ration, dole, pittance

Analogous words: allotment, apportionment, assignment (see corresponding verbs at ALLOT): share (see corresponding verb SHARE): grant, *appropriation, subsidy

2 Allowance, concession both signify a change made by way of compromise or adjustment.

Allowance usually implies a modification or variation of a requirement or a standard made for a good reason (as probable contingencies or mitigating circumstances)

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make allowance for the current in steering toward the opposite bank

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make allowance for his inexperience

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make allowance for wear through friction in designing the parts of a machine

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if business imposes its restraints and its silences and impediments, Mr. Darnay as a young gentleman of generosity knows how to make allowance for that circumstance— Dickens

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Concession implies that the change has been made reluctantly and usually as a favor or indulgence

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they would make no concession to a candidate’s youth and inexperience

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the sole concession to leisure allowed me out of the year was one month on a farm— Heiser

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any concession to fashion was, they felt, unbecoming to their age— Sackville-West

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Analogous words: adjustment, accommodation, adaptation (see corresponding verbs at ADAPT): modification, variation (see under CHANGE vb)

3 *advantage, handicap, odds, edge