retaliatory
/ri'tæliətiv/ Cách viết khác : (retaliatory) /ri'tæliətəri/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective: - Involving or characterized by retaliation; done in return for an injury or wrong: Describes an action or measure that is taken as a response to a harmful act, with the intent to inflict equivalent harm or punishment.
Usage
The adjective "retaliatory" is used to describe actions, policies, measures, or forces that are intended as a counter-strike or reprisal. It is a formal term often used in legal, military, political, and diplomatic contexts.
Examples
- The country imposed retaliatory tariffs on imported goods.
- The general warned of a swift and powerful retaliatory strike.
- The lawsuit was seen as a retaliatory action against the whistleblower.
Advanced Usage
- "retaliatory justice": A concept of justice focused on punishment as payback for a crime, closely related to retributive justice.
- The victim's family sought retaliatory justice, demanding a punishment that matched the crime.
- "retaliatory dismissal": (Legal/Labor context) The act of firing an employee as punishment for a protected action, such as filing a complaint.
- The court found the manager guilty of retaliatory dismissal.
Variants and Related Words
- Retaliate (verb): To make an attack or assault in return for a similar attack.
- The company threatened to retaliate with a lawsuit of its own.
- Retaliation (noun): The action of returning a military attack; the act of retaliating.
- They feared retaliation for their protest.
- Retributive (adjective): Of, relating to, or characterized by retribution (punishment inflicted as vengeance for a wrong). Often used similarly in formal contexts.
- The judge rejected calls for a purely retributive sentence.
Synonyms
- Retributive: Inflicting punishment as vengeance.
- Punitive: Inflicting or intended as punishment.
- Vengeful: Seeking to harm someone in return for a perceived injury.
- Reprisal (as a noun used attributively): Describing an act of retaliation (e.g., a ).
Antonyms
- Conciliatory: Intended or likely to placate or pacify.
- Forgiving: Ready and willing to forgive.
- Merciful: Showing or exercising mercy.
Related Phrases
- In retaliation for: As an act of revenge or punishment for something.
- The sanctions were enacted in retaliation for the cyberattack.
- Cycle of retaliation: A repeated pattern of attack and counter-attack.
- The two factions were locked in a vicious cycle of retaliation.
Adjective
- of or relating to or having the nature of retribution
- retributive justice demands an eye for an eye