retribution

noun

ret·​ri·​bu·​tion ˌre-trə-ˈbyü-shən 

1

: something given or exacted in recompense

especially : punishment

divine retribution

Speaking up has always been a challenge and fear of retribution has been one of the factors.

—Jazz Tangcay

2

: the dispensing or receiving of reward or punishment especially in the hereafter

The truth was long overdue. … and if there was retribution then so be it.

—Barbara Taylor Bradford

3

archaic : recompense, reward

Did you know?

With its prefix re-, meaning "back", retribution means literally "payback". And indeed we usually use it when talking about personal revenge, whether it's retribution for an insult in a high-school corridor or retribution for a guerrilla attack on a government building. But retribution isn't always so personal: God takes "divine retribution" on humans several times in the Old Testament, especially in the great Flood that wipes out almost the entire human race. And retribution for criminal acts, usually in the form of a prison sentence, is taken by the state, not the victims.

Synonyms of retribution

• revenge
• retaliation

Examples of retribution in a Sentence

The elastic-faced Ruck is a real find: his Cameron is a guilt-ridden, father-dominated nerd almost paralyzed with fear of parental retribution. —David Ansen, Newsweek, 16 June 1986

The two purposes that sustain the death penalty … in the Court's view are general deterrence and retribution. —Thurgood Marshall, Gregg v. Georgia, 1976

" … As for Cordelia, she went insane with remorse and was shut up in a lunatic asylum. I thought that was a poetical retribution for her crime." —Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908

The killer acted without fear of retribution.

the neighborhood is being torn apart by an endless cycle of gang violence and retribution

Recent Examples on the Web

The president’s continuing campaign to seek retribution against those who’ve spoken out against him is unsurprising. — Linda B. Rosenthal, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026

The public enemy is not a character in the drama of the American legal system, which stands solidly atop a foundation of justice, and not arbitrary power and indiscriminate retribution. — David B McGarry, Oc Register, 8 July 2026

The president has spent much of the year waging a war of retribution against Republicans who have crossed him. — Thomas Beaumont, Chicago Tribune, 4 July 2026

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. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 3 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English retribucioun, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin retribution-, retributio, from Latin retribuere to pay back, from re- + tribuere to pay — more at tribute

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing retribution

• divine retribution

Rhymes for retribution

• absolution
• allocution
• attribution
• comminution
• constitution
• contribution
• convolution
• destitution
• devolution
• diminution
• dissolution
• distribution

Kids Definition

retribution

noun

ret·​ri·​bu·​tion ˌre-trə-ˈbyü-shən 

: something given in payment for a wrong : punishment

Legal Definition

retribution

noun

ret·​ri·​bu·​tion ˌre-trə-ˈbyü-shən 

: punishment imposed (as on a convicted criminal) for purposes of repayment or revenge for the wrong committed