as in reparation
payment to another for a loss or injury
a peace agreement that was rejected because it contained no provisions for reprisals
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Recent Examples of reprisals
Maykol, a 25-year-old Havana resident who asked me to use just his first name to avoid regime reprisals, told me that lengthy power outages, already frequent before January, now occur daily.
—
Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
Those two films are commonly described as meditations on the futility of violence in a world where justice takes the form of endless attacks and reprisals.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Blackwell and Bennett said some of their teammates are still involved in the sport and do not want to face any reprisals.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Her return to Venezuela would be combustible—Rodríguez has already threatened reprisals—but potentially transformative.
—Boris Muñoz, Time, 3 Apr. 2026
With him was 35-year-old Hani, a technically minded cousin who spearheaded the effort to understand how the abduction took place, and who gave only his first name to avoid reprisals.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Beijing, which regards the self-governing island as part of its territory, has since stepped up diplomatic and trade reprisals against Japan.
—ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Barzani’s movement collapsed within weeks, and Iraqi forces launched reprisals that displaced hundreds of thousands of Kurdish civilians.
—John Calabrese, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2026
Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
Those two films are commonly described as meditations on the futility of violence in a world where justice takes the form of endless attacks and reprisals.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Blackwell and Bennett said some of their teammates are still involved in the sport and do not want to face any reprisals.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Her return to Venezuela would be combustible—Rodríguez has already threatened reprisals—but potentially transformative.
—Boris Muñoz, Time, 3 Apr. 2026
With him was 35-year-old Hani, a technically minded cousin who spearheaded the effort to understand how the abduction took place, and who gave only his first name to avoid reprisals.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Beijing, which regards the self-governing island as part of its territory, has since stepped up diplomatic and trade reprisals against Japan.
—ABC News, 24 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Barzani’s movement collapsed within weeks, and Iraqi forces launched reprisals that displaced hundreds of thousands of Kurdish civilians.
—John Calabrese, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reprisals
Noun
-
While there is a respectable moral case to be made for some form of reparations, Tubbs appears to be excessively fixated on policy ideas that would bankrupt our state if actually implemented.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Ukraine will only need to repay the loan if a future peace deal includes Russia paying reparations.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Taking time before a storm arrives to unplug the right appliances and household items can be the difference between weathering the storm safely and thousands of dollars in damages.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
22 Apr. 2026
-
On Tuesday a civil jury concluded that Lodes resigned involuntarily due to his reporting of a hostile workplace and was awarded the multimillion-dollar payment as compensation for his emotional damages.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reprisals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reprisals. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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