retribution
Americannoun
-
requital according to merits or deserts, especially for evil.
- Synonyms:
- recompense, repayment, retaliation
- Antonyms:
- pardon
-
something given or inflicted in such requital.
- Synonyms:
- recompense, repayment, retaliation
- Antonyms:
- pardon
-
Theology. the distribution of rewards and punishments in a future life.
noun
-
the act of punishing or taking vengeance for wrongdoing, sin, or injury
-
punishment or vengeance
Related Words
See revenge.
Other Word Forms
- retributive adjective
- retributively adverb
Etymology
Origin of retribution
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English retribucioun, from Middle French, from Late Latin retribūtiōn- (stem of retribūtiō ) “punishment, reward as result of judgment,” equivalent to Latin retribūt(us) (past participle of retribuere “to restore, give back”; re-, tribute ) + -iōn- -ion
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.
Mr. Brundage investigates whether these onerous conditions were the product of neglect, incompetence and chaos, or whether they reflected a more deliberate policy of retribution.
Although part of Kosovo's judicial system, it is physically located in The Hague and staffed solely by international judges in a bid to protect witnesses from possible retribution at home.
From Barron's
Several European nations last month sent troops to the island, which belongs to Denmark, and threatened to use their financial muscle to retaliate against the tariffs that Washington imposed in retribution.
In “One of Us,” Elizabeth Day’s shrewd novel of political ambition and personal retribution, the unlikely avenger is a diffident British art historian.
“Never did I see a more sorrowful sight, nor witness retribution to the nth degree,” he lamented.
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.
