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
In retaliating against the Union, TSG decided to disastrously impact its employees, its guests, local businesses, and our community.
—
Austen Erblat, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025
Following a heated confrontation where Paul slapped Punk across the face, the rivalry intensified with Punk retaliating by trapping Paul's ally, Pat McAfee, in a porta-potty.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
The complaint accuses police of retaliating against Martinez for exercising her First Amendment rights.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025
The movie ends as the president is forced to choose between letting the missile just hit Chicago to avoid starting a war or retaliating.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
China appears to be retaliating against a Canadian research firm for revealing that Huawei still uses foreign components in its processors.
—PC Magazine, 10 Oct. 2025
Her lawsuit also accused MTS of retaliating against her.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2025
Russia was also retaliating against the court, including by ordering Khan’s arrest.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025
Yes, the administration is actually asserting that they must be allowed to keep imposing tariffs to stop other countries from retaliating against it for imposing tariffs.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 28 Sep. 2025
Austen Erblat, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025
Following a heated confrontation where Paul slapped Punk across the face, the rivalry intensified with Punk retaliating by trapping Paul's ally, Pat McAfee, in a porta-potty.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
The complaint accuses police of retaliating against Martinez for exercising her First Amendment rights.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025
The movie ends as the president is forced to choose between letting the missile just hit Chicago to avoid starting a war or retaliating.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
China appears to be retaliating against a Canadian research firm for revealing that Huawei still uses foreign components in its processors.
—PC Magazine, 10 Oct. 2025
Her lawsuit also accused MTS of retaliating against her.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2025
Russia was also retaliating against the court, including by ordering Khan’s arrest.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025
Yes, the administration is actually asserting that they must be allowed to keep imposing tariffs to stop other countries from retaliating against it for imposing tariffs.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retaliating
avenging
Verb
-
Klay Thompson scored 16 of his 23 points in the frame, avenging his scoreless performance in the play-in opener a year earlier with the Golden State Warriors, and Anthony Davis scored a game-high 27 points.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
1 Jan. 2026
-
During the installment set in Thailand, Gries reprised his role as Greg Hunt, a former lover of Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge), while Goggins joined the show as Rick Hatchett, a grifter who was set on avenging his father's death.—
Stacy Lambe,
PEOPLE,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Retaliating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retaliating. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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