retaliation

Meaning

retaliation means violent or otherwise punitive response to an act of harm or perceived injustice; a hitting back; revenge. It can have more than one sense, so use the alternate meanings and examples to choose the meaning that matches your sentence.

Examples

• The article uses retaliation to mean violent or otherwise punitive response to an act of harm or perceived injustice;....
• The teacher asked students to find retaliation in the reading.