retributive

[ri-trib-yuh-tiv]

adjective

Also retrib·u·to·ry

[ri-trib-yuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /rɪˈtrɪb yəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/.

Origin of retributive

1670–80; obsolete retribute to make retribution (< Latin retribūtus; see retribution) + -ive

Related formsre·trib·u·tive·ly, adverbun·re·trib·u·tive, adjectiveun·re·trib·u·to·ry, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

In the moral elevation of her soul it seemed like an act of retributive justice.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine
There was a retributive justice for all those who infracted the rules of the game.
'Firebrand' Trevison
Charles Alden Seltzer
The wrath of man has worked out the retributive justice of God.
The Continental Monthly, Vol 6, No 5, November 1864
Various
The retributive stroke, swift and visible, is not needed to declare this.
Expositor's Bible: The Book of Job
Robert Watson
Nothing but the hand of a retributive Providence can avail to reach them.
A Defence of Virginia
Robert L. Dabney

1670s, from retribute + -ive.