SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
retaliation
noun
An action taken in return for a perceived injury, offense, or attack.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Action in return for injury
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topRetaliation responds to an actual or perceived injury. Retribution emphasizes deserved punishment; vengeance often adds a strong personal motive.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See retaliation in use
The mediator urged both groups to discuss the dispute without retaliation.
Retaliation followed when Nora deliberately locked away Ben's watering can to punish him for the injury she believed he had caused.
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