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
  • These attacks were often met by retaliatory operations that saw the insurgents suffer significant casualties.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Oxygen Forensics denied those claims and sued Weissberg for defamation in August in federal court in Virginia, calling the video part of a retaliatory campaign.
    — Anniek Bao,Dan Mangan, CNBC, 25 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
  • Rather than imposing more punitive rules on all shoppers, however, retailers should identify high-risk returns and apply additional verification selectively to protect the customer experience for the vast swathe of legitimate patrons.
    — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The measure would have barred Switzerland from joining punitive measures against other countries unless they were imposed by the United Nations.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of punitive
Adjective
  • That same day, at least one student received a disciplinary notice asking them to schedule a meeting with the student conduct administrator in less than two weeks.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The court documents show at least one fraternity member is fighting in court to overturn the disciplinary action against him and clear his academic record.
    — Susan Svrluga, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of disciplinary
Adjective
  • Their ruling states that investigators should not have cited penal law as justification for seizing the artwork, and reproaches a lower court’s previous approval of their methods.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 21 Sep. 2026
  • She had originally been charged with abuse of residents of penal facilities, a felony.
    — Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of penal
Adjective
  • Simple things like being able to choose when to sleep, and showering without a correctional officer escort are novel changes after a quarter-century behind bars.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • According to Macallair, who has been working on juvenile justice reform for more than 40 years, any facility with more than 10 kids becomes unwieldy, distracting from rehabilitation and becoming more correctional.
    — Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 25 Sep. 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.

Browse Nearby Words

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 5 Oct. 2026.

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