RETRIBUTIVE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

retributive

adjective

Definition of retributive

as in retaliatory

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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.

Recent Examples of retributive The Front Page Highlights The president’s unilateral and retributive style of governing is starting to hit a wall in both chambers of Congress. — Katie Rogers Adriana Loureiro Fernandez Nina Agrawal Ryan Mac, New York Times, 5 June 2026 The images captured by bystanders and immigration agents were reminiscent of the lynching postcards that white spectators once bought and traded — reproductions of retributive violence, tailor-made to titillate and intimidate. — Tressie McMillan Cottom, Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2026 For millennia, punishment was considered morally defensible purely on retributive grounds. — Paul Rosenzweig, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026 The Austro-Hungarian Empire’s retributive demands against Serbia led Russia, a Serbian ally, to mobilize its forces, which in turn provoked Germany to build up troops against Russia and England, another Russian ally. — Joel Wuthnow, Foreign Affairs, 12 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for retributive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retributive

Adjective

Russia’s daily aerial assualts on Ukraine still vastly outnumber Kyiv’s retaliatory attacks.

— Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
This indicates that Canada has not ruled out taking retaliatory measures.

— , CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of retaliatory

Adjective

Train and reframe the narrative to show that surveillance is not punitive but a tool designed to remove friction from their shift.

— Robert Messer, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Health policy researchers and hospice administrators worry that the negative attention on the industry and potential for overly punitive regulations could put California patients and taxpayers on the losing end.

— Laurie Udesky, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Definition of punitive

Adjective

The speaker didn’t take disciplinary action against Benton until this year when a female lobbyist said she was harassed by him at a River North bar in January, the Tribune reported.

— Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
Architecture is morphing into a pan-disciplinary practice, where architects leave conventional practice to apply their thinking at the intersection of strategy, branding, graphic design, and spatial environments.

— Lauren Sinclair, Curbed, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of disciplinary

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retributions

retributive

retributory

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“Retributive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retributive. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of retributive

adjective

Example Sentences

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