retaliation

/ɹiˌtæl.iˈeɪ.ʃən/US/ɹɪˌtæl.iˈeɪ.ʃən/

retaliation noun: violent or otherwise punitive response to an act of harm or perceived injustice; a hitting back; revenge.

Noun

retaliation (usually uncountable, plural retaliations)

(usually) Violent or otherwise punitive response to an act of harm or perceived injustice; a hitting back; revenge.
- Hamas knew there would be massive retaliations.2009 January 13, “'Never again,' says survivor”, in Toronto Star

எதிர்தாக்குதல், எதிரடி, பதிலடி

act of responding violently to an act of harm or perceived injustice: प्रत्याघात pratyāghāt, बदला badlā

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As for further retaliation: adding such fuel to the fire, as it were, will only worsen the already unpleasant state of affairs.
The threat of retaliation “exponentially increases when Trump calls you a spy.”
Letters of counter-mart were issued in retaliation for letters of mart.

plural	retaliations

From retaliate + -ion.

What does retaliation mean?: Retaliation means violent or otherwise punitive response to an act of harm or perceived injustice; a hitting back; revenge.
What is retaliation in Hindi?: Retaliation in Hindi is प्रतिहिंसा (pratihinsā). See Retaliation meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is retaliation?: Retaliation is a noun.
How do you pronounce retaliation?: Retaliation is pronounced /ɹiˌtæl.iˈeɪ.ʃən/ (UK).
What is the plural of retaliation?: The plural of retaliation is retaliations.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-retaliation.wav.

Cite this entry: “retaliation.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retaliation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.