as in avenging
to punish in kind the wrongdoer responsible for
retaliated his neighbor's malicious destruction of his flower garden by cutting down the man's prize apple tree
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Recent Examples of retaliating
Iran retaliating by blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
—
Alexander Smith, NBC news, 6 Apr. 2026
And Iran is retaliating against energy sites in the gulf.
—ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
Hezbollah also was retaliating for near-daily Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire agreement reached 15 months ago.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
And the other option is to target Iranian energy infrastructure, which could result in Iran retaliating against the Gulf states and torching the entire regional infrastructure.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026
Iran is retaliating by raising the costs of war for the United States and the world.
—Frederic Wehrey, Time, 24 Mar. 2026
In May 2025, Peralta-Quintana was charged with intimidating and retaliating against a witness, and he was convicted on those counts as well, the DA said.
—Laura Fay, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026
Andrea Riquier The oil price surged Thursday as hostilities increased in the Middle East, with Israel bombing a crucial natural gas field and Iran retaliating by damaging an oil refinery in Qatar.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 19 Mar. 2026
Meatpacking workers at the Colorado plant accused JBS of retaliating against the organizing workers.
—Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 16 Mar. 2026
Alexander Smith, NBC news, 6 Apr. 2026
And Iran is retaliating against energy sites in the gulf.
—ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
Hezbollah also was retaliating for near-daily Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire agreement reached 15 months ago.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
And the other option is to target Iranian energy infrastructure, which could result in Iran retaliating against the Gulf states and torching the entire regional infrastructure.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2026
Iran is retaliating by raising the costs of war for the United States and the world.
—Frederic Wehrey, Time, 24 Mar. 2026
In May 2025, Peralta-Quintana was charged with intimidating and retaliating against a witness, and he was convicted on those counts as well, the DA said.
—Laura Fay, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026
Andrea Riquier The oil price surged Thursday as hostilities increased in the Middle East, with Israel bombing a crucial natural gas field and Iran retaliating by damaging an oil refinery in Qatar.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 19 Mar. 2026
Meatpacking workers at the Colorado plant accused JBS of retaliating against the organizing workers.
—Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retaliating
avenging
Verb
-
The Illini can end Connecticut's ridiculous run on Saturday by avenging their November loss at Madison Square Garden.—
Ryan Baker,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
And Houston tries to continue its march toward avenging its loss in last year’s championship game.—
The Sports Desk,
NBC news,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retaliating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retaliating. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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