as in retaliations
the act or an instance of responding to an injury with an injury
the neighborhood is being torn apart by an endless cycle of gang violence and retribution
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Recent Examples of retributions
What starts as a petty territorial conflict mutates into a spiralling cycle of retributions, escalating from passive-aggressive jabs to acts of destruction and ruin.
—
Udita Jhunjhunwala, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Surveys are important, too, so workers feel safe to speak up without any retributions.
—Vicki Salemi, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
Udita Jhunjhunwala, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Surveys are important, too, so workers feel safe to speak up without any retributions.
—Vicki Salemi, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retributions
Noun
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Over the past year, countries rushed to secure piecemeal deals; some allowed panic to overtake them; very few coordinated their actions or retaliations.—
Mihir Sharma,
Twin Cities,
26 Mar. 2026
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Neither country can afford to return to the prior tariff rates during the heat of tit-for-tat retaliations, which freaked out Big Tech earlier this year.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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On two separate occasions earlier in March, Rick Nicholson brushed the chest of two female players while attempting to swat away insects, according to the parents of three players who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns that their daughters might face reprisals.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
9 Apr. 2026
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Her return to Venezuela would be combustible—Rodríguez has already threatened reprisals—but potentially transformative.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retributions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retributions. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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