retaliatory

[ ri-tal-ee-uh-tawr-ee ]
See synonyms for retaliatory on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. done in order to take revenge; returning evil for evil: Hate crimes are especially likely to inflict emotional harm and provoke retaliatory violence.

Origin of retaliatory

1
  • Rarely re·tal·i·a·tive [ri-tal-ee-uh-tiv] /rɪˈtæl i əˌtɪv/ .

Other words from retaliatory

  • un·re·tal·i·a·to·ry, un·re·tal·i·a·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use retaliatory in a sentence