retaliative

adjective

Definition of retaliativenext
as in retaliatory

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retaliative
  1. retaliatory
  2. revengeful
  3. retributive
  4. punitive
  5. disciplinary
  6. penal
  7. correctional
Adjective
  • Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer, and reporter Lara Korte at Stars and Stripes – a military news outlet that is partially funded by the Pentagon – claimed their dismissals were retaliatory and violated the First Amendment.
    — Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The two sides traded strikes earlier this week for the first time in over a month, and the new attacks risk another retaliatory cycle.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of retaliatory
Adjective
  • DeMar DeRozan had 32, Russell Westbrook had a revengeful 22 and Malik Monk had 26 off the bench.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Brian Heil played Don Jose with angst and ultimately, revengeful rage as Carmen’s spurned lover.
    — Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Dec. 2025
Definition of revengeful
Adjective
  • The interviewees were willing to talk openly and honestly about Trump covered by anonymity, a necessity to protect them from this fiercely thin-skinned and retributive president.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 25 June 2026
  • And there’s no question that Israel was pursuing both a political agenda as well as retributive-justice agenda.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2026
Definition of retributive
Adjective
  • However, recent scholarship posits that the structure was used as ordinary (rather than punitive) housing, and that the vulgar decor was in fact a distinguishing characteristic of the epoch.
    — Jim Greer, SPIN, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The Department of Defense attempted to blacklist Anthropic in February after the company refused to remove restrictions on its AI models being used for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance, a move widely seen as punitive.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of punitive
Adjective
  • Yet Fernandez was spared disciplinary action from his club after offering to make an undisclosed sum to an anti-discrimination charity (it was never revealed which one).
    — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Cloud was not ejected from the game, nor did the WNBA issue any disciplinary action.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of disciplinary
Adjective
  • The museum, spanning a former cell block wing, is a deeply informative and well curated journey through the evolution of the nation’s penal system.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026
  • While the two men entered the Russian penal system around the same time, their cases differ significantly.
    — Jared Kofsky, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of penal
Adjective
  • At noon that same day, her cellmates notified the correctional officer who failed to review Babb’s documents a few hours earlier.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Speaking of Prison Break characters that fans love to hate, Wade Williams was Brad Bellick, a corrupt captain of the correctional officers at Fox River Penitentiary.
    — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of correctional
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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retaliations
retaliative
retaliatory
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Cite this Entry

“Retaliative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retaliative. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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