as in revenge
the act or an instance of responding to an injury with an injury
police believe that the murder was in retaliation for an earlier gangland execution
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Recent Examples of retaliation
The judge allowed three of her 13 claims — including breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation, to proceed to trial.
—
Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 4 May 2026
With the retaliation allegation still standing, and Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit dismissed months ago, Lively had sworn to carry on.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 May 2026
Coffey’s lawsuit claims the State Agricultural Society, which governs the Fair, violated the Minnesota Whistleblower Act by unlawful retaliation.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 4 May 2026
Over more than a year, the conflict sprawled into a series of lawsuits, countersuits and public claims that drew intense attention in Hollywood and touched on broader questions about workplace conduct and retaliation in the post-#MeToo era.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
There’s no reason that people should feel fear of retaliation based on skin color and racial profiling.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 4 May 2026
Blake Lively agreed to settle her retaliation lawsuit against Justin Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios, dodging a trial over the bitter Hollywood feud weeks before it was set to begin and bringing an end to a conflict that has sparked widespread interest for nearly two years.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026
Some asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
Their efforts, often carried out under threat of violence and economic retaliation, helped lay the groundwork for the representation gains that followed the Voting Rights Act.
—Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 4 May 2026
With the retaliation allegation still standing, and Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit dismissed months ago, Lively had sworn to carry on.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 4 May 2026
Coffey’s lawsuit claims the State Agricultural Society, which governs the Fair, violated the Minnesota Whistleblower Act by unlawful retaliation.
—Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 4 May 2026
Over more than a year, the conflict sprawled into a series of lawsuits, countersuits and public claims that drew intense attention in Hollywood and touched on broader questions about workplace conduct and retaliation in the post-#MeToo era.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2026
There’s no reason that people should feel fear of retaliation based on skin color and racial profiling.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 4 May 2026
Blake Lively agreed to settle her retaliation lawsuit against Justin Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios, dodging a trial over the bitter Hollywood feud weeks before it was set to begin and bringing an end to a conflict that has sparked widespread interest for nearly two years.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026
Some asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 4 May 2026
Their efforts, often carried out under threat of violence and economic retaliation, helped lay the groundwork for the representation gains that followed the Voting Rights Act.
—Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retaliation
Noun
-
The Wu-Tang Clan founder directed, wrote and produced the revenge thriller that follows an ex-military convict (Shameik Moore) seeking redemption in a small town.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
3 May 2026
-
That’s Joel Schumacher’s 1993 revenge thriller about a fed-up white Angeleno who embarks on a violent odyssey across an alienating urban hellscape to reunite with his daughter.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
2 May 2026
Noun
-
The story will alight on themes central to Park’s oeuvre of vengeance, retribution, the consequences of violence and the power of memory and family, but this time in the American West.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Politico went through 45 years of FEMA records and found that no other president, going back as far as Reagan, has denied a majority of requests from any states, let alone singled out states for political retribution using FEMA dollars.—
The Denver Post Editorial Board,
Denver Post,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retaliation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retaliation. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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