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

1. of or relating to or having the nature of retribution
   • retributive justice demands an eye for an eye