as in retributive
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Recent Examples of retributory
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.
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BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2021
BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retributory
Adjective
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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
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For millennia, punishment was considered morally defensible purely on retributive grounds.—
Paul Rosenzweig,
The Atlantic,
3 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The United States and Israel have conducted coordinated strikes on Iran since February 28, prompting retaliatory attacks that have escalated into a widening war across the Middle East.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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Iran kept up its retaliatory attacks on Israel, American bases and countries around the region.—
Jon Gambrell,
Twin Cities,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retributory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retributory. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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