retributive
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retributive
1670–80; obsolete retribute to make retribution (< Latin retribūtus; see retribution) + -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Retributive justice, particularly if not perceived as fair by all sides, is unlikely to result in healing of a very fractured community.
From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2016
Retributive justice, as the motive force of tragedy, has for us lost its meaning.
From The Principles of Aesthetics by Parker, Dewitt H.
Retributive justice we shall meet with in a little while, but we have now reached Miyako, the Mikado's residence, and nominally still the capital of Nippon.
From The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 4, July, 1851 by Various
Then he smiled as he said: "Retributive justice."
From Sparrows: the story of an unprotected girl by Newte, Horace W. C. (Horace Wykeham Can)
Retributive justice pierced his guilty conscience with a thousand viper stings.
From Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by Judson, L. Carroll
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
