as in revenge
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 retribution
Turning Venezuela into a freer country would allow American companies to get retribution for the property taken from them.
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Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 7 Jan. 2026
Special Agent Kitts leads the hunt for a serial killer who leaves obscure mathematical formulas and twisted poems of retribution by the bodies.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026
Punishment became a social good rather than a basis for personal retribution.
—Paul Rosenzweig, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
Trump has also singled out Colorado for retribution over the state's imprisonment of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for retribution
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retribution
Noun
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No matter how unpopular a modern dictator might be, there will be an important percentage of his population who have benefited from his rule, who will be aggrieved by his overthrow, and who, exposed to revenge from the rest, will attempt to preempt it.—
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United got their revenge in the league, though, pipping Leeds to the title on goal average.—
Noun
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For immigration advocates in the Bay Area, Good’s death has intensified long-standing concerns about intimidation and retaliation against those who monitor federal agents.—
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Russia said the attack was retaliation for what Moscow claimed was a Ukrainian drone strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence last month.—
Cite this Entry
“Retribution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retribution. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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