retaliation

retaliation — noun

1. something harmful or unpleasant that you do to a person, group, or country becau

1.nounB2
Definition

something harmful or unpleasant that you do to a person, group, or country because they first did something harmful or unpleasant to you — for example, a company firing a worker who reported safety problems, or a country banning imports after a trade dispute.

Example

The journalist faced threats of retaliation after publishing the government report.

faced threats of retaliation — common noun + of pattern

The company's decision to fire the whistleblower was seen as retaliation by the employees.

act of retaliation — noun phrase structure

Common collocations
  • in retaliation for
  • retaliation against
  • fear of retaliation
  • threat of retaliation
  • act of retaliation
  • military retaliation
  • economic retaliation
  • immediate retaliation
  • retaliation from [someone]
Synonyms
  • revenge

    more personal and emotionally charged; implies a desire to make someone suffer

  • reprisal

    almost exclusively used for military or political retaliation between groups or nations

  • payback

    informal tone; suggests a reciprocal act that is seen as deserved

  • vengeance

    more intense and dramatic; implies moral outrage or a severe punishment

Antonyms
  • forgiveness

    choosing not to retaliate; the opposite emotional response

  • reconciliation

    the process of restoring peace instead of escalating harm

Grammar Patterns

in retaliation for [something]

retaliation against [someone/something]

act of retaliation

Usage Note

Frequently uncountable; typically used in formal, political, legal, and workplace contexts. Often appears in the prepositional phrase 'in retaliation for' to state the cause, or 'retaliation against' to state the target. The word commonly implies a back-and-forth dynamic rather than a single isolated act of revenge.

Common Mistakes

He did retaliation to his boss for the criticism.
He took retaliation against his boss for the criticism.
'retaliation' is not used with 'do'; common verbs are 'take', 'face', 'fear', or the phrase 'in retaliation for'.
The team scored a goal in retaliation for the opponent's goal.
The team scored a goal in retaliation for the opponent's rough tackle.
'in retaliation for' should refer to a harmful or offensive action, not a normal competitive event.

Word family

  • retaliate
    verbB2
  • retaliatory
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While retaliation, revenge, reprisal, payback, and vengeance all refer to responding to harm with harm, they differ in register and context. Retaliation is the most neutral and versatile term, used in workplace disputes, legal cases, and international conflicts alike. Revenge carries a stronger emotional charge and implies personal satisfaction as a motive ('He wanted revenge for the insult his colleague made'). Reprisal is almost exclusively used in political or military contexts ('the army carried out reprisals against the rebel village'). Payback is informal and suggests a reciprocal action that feels deserved, often heard in everyday conversation or crime dramas. Vengeance is the most intense, suggesting moral outrage and a desire for severe punishment. In a sentence: 'The union's strike was retaliation for the wage cut' sounds factual, while 'The union sought vengeance for the wage cut' sounds dramatic and emotional.

revenge ↗reprisalpaybackvengeance ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in retaliation for
  • fear of retaliation
  • an act of retaliation
  • threat of retaliation
  • cycle of retaliation

Prepositions

  • in retaliation for
  • retaliation against
  • retaliation from

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Retaliation comes from the Latin verb 'retaliare', meaning to pay back or require in kind. It was formed from 're-', meaning 'back', and 'talio', which referred to a punishment of the same kind as the offence — the ancient principle of an eye for an eye. The word passed into English through French in the 1500s and has since expanded from legal contexts into everyday and political language.