How to Use reprisal in a Sentence

reprisal

noun
  • The hostages were taken in reprisal for the bombing.
  • The allies threatened economic reprisals against the invading country.
  • Enemy officers suffered harsh reprisals.
  • The sources asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 9 June 2026
  • But this reprisal comes after many stints of strips on menus.
    — Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Both asked that their full names not be used, fearing reprisal.
    — Maggie Michael and Brian Rohan, chicagotribune.com, 26 Mar. 2018
  • Some asked for their names to not be published due to fear of reprisal.
    — Rory Linnane, jsonline.com, 26 Feb. 2026
  • All asked not to be identified by name due to fears of reprisal.
    — Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 23 Oct. 2023
  • Lena, who gave only her first name for fear of reprisal, started to cry.
    — Valerie Hopkins, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
  • Three judges have stepped down from the case amid fears of reprisals, and a fourth one was dismissed.
    — Doha Madani, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Would they be protected from reprisal?
    — Amy Maxmen, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2026
  • There were fears of reprisals from the far-right factions at the center of the film.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Nov. 2024
  • Both killings were intended as reprisal.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The content of the joke wouldn’t stop the state reprisals that were already in the works.
    — James Folta september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Tone deaf and melody-challenged folks like me can break out in song without fear of reprisal.
    — Ana Veciana-Suarez, miamiherald, 12 Dec. 2017
  • The person did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal.
    — Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 15 Oct. 2020
  • All spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
    — Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 6 May 2021
  • The two spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
    — Author: Rami Musa, Samy Magdy, Anchorage Daily News, 3 July 2019
  • The toys’ reprisal comes after more than 25 years off the market.
    — Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 21 Dec. 2023
  • And many fear reprisals from the government for speaking out.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 7 June 2026
  • Many of those sources were granted anonymity to speak freely without fear of reprisal.
    — Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 2 June 2025
  • The president's threat is a reprisal of a stance he's made known in recent weeks.
    — Mike Brest, Washington Examiner, 1 July 2020
  • In reprisal, Hamas fired rockets at the city for the first time in seven years.
    — Jonah E. Bromwich, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2023
  • Yet few are willing to speak publicly, worried about reprisals.
    — Miami Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
  • The 39-year-old asked not to be identified by his full name for fear of reprisal.
    — Hanna Arhirova, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Oct. 2022
  • Don't expect a reprisal of that character, though.
    — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Letters of marque and reprisal were used in the past when naval warfare was common.
    — Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
  • The protester asked not to be named for fear of government reprisal.
    — Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • And because of that, the Taliban is trying to seek them out for reprisal.
    — / Cbs News, CBS News, 25 May 2025
  • The two people spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
    — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reprisal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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