as in revenge
the act or an instance of responding to an injury with an injury
police believe that the murder was in retaliation for an earlier gangland execution
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Recent Examples of retaliation
Moscow says the strike was retaliation for Ukraine’s 40-day campaign on Russian oil refineries and supply lines, which has fueled shortages, hit Crimea and eroded battlefield momentum.
—
Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2026
Moscow launched massive drone and missile strikes on Kyiv, killing at least 17 people in retaliation against recent Ukrainian attacks that have buckled Russia’s economy.
—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
2 July 2026
Timing was key, Texas Ranger testifies The speed at which James Saulter was placed on administrative leave was key to Garcia’s decision to pursue a retaliation investigation into Sheriff Adam King, Garcia said.
—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 July 2026
Moscow said the attack was retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia.
—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
2 July 2026
Moscow said the attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia.
—
Gleb Garanich,
USA Today,
2 July 2026
Russia said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, which Moscow says have caused fuel shortages and disrupted parts of its energy network.
—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
2 July 2026
Anthropic claimed the designation was retaliation after the company’s refusal to grant government access to models for the purposes of building autonomous weapons or conducting domestic mass surveillance.
—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
1 July 2026
The prosecutor’s office called Bravo’s killing retaliation for her work against organized crime, but the perpetrator escaped the scene and remains at large.
—
Will Freeman,
New Yorker,
30 June 2026
Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2026
Moscow launched massive drone and missile strikes on Kyiv, killing at least 17 people in retaliation against recent Ukrainian attacks that have buckled Russia’s economy.
—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
2 July 2026
Timing was key, Texas Ranger testifies The speed at which James Saulter was placed on administrative leave was key to Garcia’s decision to pursue a retaliation investigation into Sheriff Adam King, Garcia said.
—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 July 2026
Moscow said the attack was retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia.
—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
2 July 2026
Moscow said the attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia.
—
Gleb Garanich,
USA Today,
2 July 2026
Russia said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, which Moscow says have caused fuel shortages and disrupted parts of its energy network.
—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
2 July 2026
Anthropic claimed the designation was retaliation after the company’s refusal to grant government access to models for the purposes of building autonomous weapons or conducting domestic mass surveillance.
—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
1 July 2026
The prosecutor’s office called Bravo’s killing retaliation for her work against organized crime, but the perpetrator escaped the scene and remains at large.
—
Will Freeman,
New Yorker,
30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retaliation
Noun
-
Short dramas tapped into these stories of time travel, revenge, and high fantasy — and translated the narrative patterns of web novels into video.
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The opposition views the initiative, proposed by Pastef, Sonko's party, as political revenge by the former prime minister, who retains significant influence over the parliamentary majority.
Noun
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Members of white government clubs hassled their white neighbors into political lockstep and advertised physical and financial retribution for any Black person who dared to vote.
-
The president has spent much of the year waging a war of retribution against Republicans who have crossed him.
Cite this Entry
“Retaliation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retaliation. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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