SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
reprisal
noun
An act of retaliation for an injury or perceived wrong.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Retaliatory action
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topReprisal is a retaliatory act, often in a conflict. Retribution emphasizes punishment for wrongdoing; payback is informal.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See reprisal in use
The mediator sought an agreement that would prevent further reprisals.
A reprisal occurred when the shopkeeper's cousin damaged the manager's private stall in retaliation.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license