retaliation

American  

[ri-tal-ee-ay-shuhn] / rɪˌtæl iˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

• retaliations
  plural

1. the act of retaliating; return of like for like; reprisal.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterretaliation
  noun
• nonretaliation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• retaliations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of retaliation

First recorded in 1575–85; retaliate + -ion

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Explanation

Retaliation is an act of revenge. Before you initiate retaliation on someone who has wronged you, consider whether he or she might have a ninja alter ego and a set of nunchucks stashed away. The noun retaliation stems from the Latin retaliare, meaning “pay back in kind.” Notice the word kind in that definition. Retaliation used to have both good and evil connotations. Now, though, it’s important to read that kind as synonymous with type or sort because retaliation has since lost its positive sense. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

retaliation retaliations

Farzin Nadimi, an Iran-focused senior fellow with the Washington Institute, a U.S. think tank, said Tehran will also have to factor in the likelihood of U.S. and Israeli retaliation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

They need to socialize a language of accountability that promotes rule of law, democracy, and due process while eschewing talk of retribution, retaliation, or political payback.

From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2026

Six months after the board heard their concerns, the three employees sued the organization for retaliation and wrongful termination.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

“With Riyadh promising retaliation and Washington weighing direct intervention, further airstrikes risk fueling another cycle of escalation rather than bringing the attacks to an end,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

I can see, for instance, how she might have felt I had been the one to first violate an understanding, and that her little dig had just been a retaliation.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

The cooling of tensions could draw U.S. investors back to Chinese stocks—after wariness about tit-for-tat retaliations between the two superpowers—and boost that market.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

American forces have at times mounted retaliations, but in limited fashion to avoid instigating a full-fledged conflict.

From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2024

Experts say that the war-fighting plans in general go from warning shots to single strikes to multiple retaliations and that the hardest question is whether there are reliable ways to prevent a conflict from escalating.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 21, 2022

The agreement — which still needs to be finalized — comes after years of diplomatic tit-for-tat retaliations that have left the embassy badly understaffed, down from 1,200 personnel five years ago to just 120 now.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2021

And finally, selfishness carried beyond a certain point brings the penalty not only of the unfavorable opinion and private retaliations of others, but of the publicly enforced law.

From Problems of Conduct by Durant Drake

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Related Words

• punishment
• reprisal
• retribution
• revenge

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