noun

retaliation

rih-tal-ee-AY-shun/rɪˌtæliˈeɪʃn/

Action taken against someone in return for harm or an offense.

The second shove is retaliation for the first hostile push.

A text-free two-panel sequence shows a hostile shove followed by a shove in return, making both the original offense and the retaliatory response visible.

Etymology

reLatinback

+taliLatinpayment exacted in kind

+ationLatinaction or process

The underlying idea is a return of like for like: repayment matching what was received. Retaliation could originally repay good or evil, but now usually means a response to injury or insult.

In context

LibriVox Audiobooks238:38

The bombs did great damage to wire and trenches, and naturally enemy retaliation was prompt and heavy whenever we fired.

Everyman at War. Sixty Personal Narratives of the War by Charles B. Purdom Part 1/3 | Audio Book

More examples

She spreads rumors about him in retaliation for his insults.
Fear of retaliation keeps some witnesses from speaking up.
The country raises tariffs in retaliation for new trade restrictions.

Forms

retaliation · retaliations

retaliate verb — To harm someone in return for harm.

retaliatory adjective — Intended to punish someone for an offense.

Similar words

revenge: Emphasizes a personal desire to hurt someone for a wrong.
retribution: Emphasizes punishment viewed as deserved, rather than simply striking back.
reprisal: Often describes an organized response to a hostile act.