as in retaliatory
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Recent Examples of retributive
Russell Vought’s retributive targeting of universities, law firms, and the media.
—
Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 15 July 2025
The lawyer articulated a different retributive vision, one that corresponds to, say, dismantling federal agencies via deregulation, or rooting out dark money—not just handcuffing Trump’s enemies for the camera.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 11 May 2025
There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI should I be confirmed as the FBI director.
—ABC News, 13 Apr. 2025
Read a list of Trump’s other retributive actions here.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for retributive
Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 15 July 2025
The lawyer articulated a different retributive vision, one that corresponds to, say, dismantling federal agencies via deregulation, or rooting out dark money—not just handcuffing Trump’s enemies for the camera.
—Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 11 May 2025
There will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI should I be confirmed as the FBI director.
—ABC News, 13 Apr. 2025
Read a list of Trump’s other retributive actions here.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for retributive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retributive
Adjective
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Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
3 Oct. 2025
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Alex Mengden, policy analyst at Tax Foundation Europe, said EU officials have typically sought to downplay the potential for any retaliatory steps from major economies when the final stage of CBAM kicks in.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Fans hoping for a revengeful scoring outburst were left wanting a little more, however, as Dončić — a career 28.6 points per game scorer — added only 10 points over the final three quarters.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC News,
26 Feb. 2025
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Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.—
Nicole Froio,
refinery29.com,
29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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As Afghanistan's once-again rulers, the Taliban would refrain from retributory violence and respect women's rights - at least so far as Islam allows.—
BostonGlobe.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
17 Aug. 2021
Adjective
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But a federal judge threw out the lawsuit in March 2024, excoriating the platform’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
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Then, just before voting to pass the bill last month, the House adopted an amendment that raised the fines to $25,000 for an initial violation and $125,000 for subsequent offenses, making the measure the most financially punitive bathroom restriction in the country, according to The Texas Tribune.—
Jo Yurcaba,
NBC news,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Hollfelder had been charged with abuse of residents of penal facilities, a felony that can carry a sentence of up to 1½ years in prison and two years on extended supevision.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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The Chinese are also concentrating on plug-in hybrids, which don’t carry the same penal tariffs as pure EVs, and which may have a long-term future if the EU decides to dilute its carbon dioxide emissions regime.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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After an internal review, bureau leadership determined that the agents had not violated any specific policy and that no disciplinary action was necessary.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
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The superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools has apologized for the incident and applied serious disciplinary consequences to their student athlete consistent with its student policies and code of conduct.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Retributive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retributive. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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