as in to avenge
to punish in kind the wrongdoer responsible for
retaliated his neighbor's malicious destruction of his flower garden by cutting down the man's prize apple tree
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Recent Examples of retaliate
In response, the plaintiffs allege that the Pattons retaliated against them, Disney and 20th TV ignored their complaints, and ultimately laid off the entire props department rather than investigate and take appropriate action.
—
Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 2 June 2025
The agreement was reached after Trump slapped sky-high tariffs on imports from China into the U.S., and China retaliated in kind.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 30 May 2025
In dealing a blow to Hezbollah in particular, Israel removed the concern of the group threatening Israeli aircraft on their way to Iran and retaliating with missile attacks on Israel after any strike.
—Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 28 May 2025
The question buzzing around Philadelphia on Wednesday is a moral conundrum: Should the Phillies retaliate for Braves pitcher Spencer Strider drilling Bryce Harper with a 95-mph fastball in the elbow on Tuesday night?
—Anthony Stitt, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for retaliate
Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 2 June 2025
The agreement was reached after Trump slapped sky-high tariffs on imports from China into the U.S., and China retaliated in kind.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 30 May 2025
In dealing a blow to Hezbollah in particular, Israel removed the concern of the group threatening Israeli aircraft on their way to Iran and retaliating with missile attacks on Israel after any strike.
—Julian E. Barnes, New York Times, 28 May 2025
The question buzzing around Philadelphia on Wednesday is a moral conundrum: Should the Phillies retaliate for Braves pitcher Spencer Strider drilling Bryce Harper with a 95-mph fastball in the elbow on Tuesday night?
—Anthony Stitt, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for retaliate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retaliate
avenge
Verb
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Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, pledged to avenge the attacks.—
Christina Wilkie,Anniek Bao,Riya Bhattacharjee,
CNBC,
13 June 2025
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This avenged a loss to Plymouth North in the last year’s Division 2 championship game, which head coach Chris Costello said that loss lingered in their heads all season.—
Jack Murray,
Boston Herald,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Retaliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retaliate. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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