SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

counterretaliation

noun coun·ter·re·tal·i·a·tion \ ˌkau̇n-tər-ri-ˌta-lē-ˈā-shən , -ˌrē- \

variants: or counter-retaliation

Definition of counterretaliation

plural counterretaliations or counter-retaliations

: an act of retaliating against a previous retaliatory act

… provoke retaliatory strikes that are promptly followed by counterretaliation.
—Robert Lekachman

First Known Use of counterretaliation

1813

in the meaning defined above

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