1
as in reparation
usually reprisals plural
payment to another for a loss or injury
a peace agreement that was rejected because it contained no provisions for reprisals
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2
as in retaliation
the act or an instance of responding to an injury with an injury
after defeating them last year in the finals, our team nervously awaited the expected reprisal by our archrivals in this year's tournament
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Recent Examples of reprisal
The partial evacuation of the Iraq embassy, among other staff withdrawals, came as talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program appeared stalled, with American officials fearing reprisals if Israel follows through on its plans, CBS wrote.
—
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 13 June 2025
Satellite images revealed damage to Iran's Tabriz missile base resulting from Israel's attacks as the Islamic Republic fires barrages at Israel in reprisal for attacks on its military establishment and nuclear program.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
One was not to get involved any further and risk reprisals; the other was that the family had a moral as well as a practical responsibility to make sure this group of kidnappers wouldn’t go on to commit future crimes.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
In fact, Mifune depicted Musashi in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy, so this post-mortem portrayal is a reprisal of sorts.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprisal
Ben Smith, semafor.com, 13 June 2025
Satellite images revealed damage to Iran's Tabriz missile base resulting from Israel's attacks as the Islamic Republic fires barrages at Israel in reprisal for attacks on its military establishment and nuclear program.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
One was not to get involved any further and risk reprisals; the other was that the family had a moral as well as a practical responsibility to make sure this group of kidnappers wouldn’t go on to commit future crimes.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
In fact, Mifune depicted Musashi in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy, so this post-mortem portrayal is a reprisal of sorts.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprisal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reprisal
Noun
-
According to their models, unless these underlying conditions are addressed, even reparations on a vast scale would offer only temporary relief.—
Idrees Kahloon,
New Yorker,
28 July 2025
-
Failure to act could result in large GHG emitting countries owing reparations to smaller countries for the adverse impacts of climate change.—
Jon McGowan,
Forbes.com,
26 July 2025
Noun
-
Cady Stanton: Pivoting more to the international tax side here — section 899, also referred to as the revenge tax, made a lot of news when it was included in the House bill, and subsequently removed following the announcement about this agreement between the United States and other G7 countries.—
Tax Notes Staff,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
-
The Sky Clubs were no match for the burst of revenge travelers.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
26 July 2025
Noun
-
The Statesman visited several of the properties on the list and heard a variety of experiences from residents, most of whom did not want to be named for fear of retribution.—
Ella McCarthy,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
-
The detectives suspect that these are killings of retribution, but soon discover that eerily similar murders are taking place all over the country.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
28 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reprisal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reprisal. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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