retribution
/ˌɹɛt.ɹɪˈbju.ʃən/
retribution noun: punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance.
Noun
retribution (countable and uncountable, plural retributions)
- Punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance.
- Whereas retribution focuses on the offender's wrong, retaliation focuses on the impulse of the victim (or of those who sympathize with him) to strike back at the offender.1983, Richard A. Posner, The economics of justice, m p.208
- 1. Revenge is for an injury; retribution is for a wrong.
- 2. Retribution sets an internal limit to the amount of the punishment according to the seriousness of the wrong; revenge need not.
- 3. Revenge is personal; the agent of retribution need have no special or personal tie to the victim of the wrong for which he exacts retribution.
- 4. Revenge involves a particular emotional tone, pleasure in the suffering of another, while retribution need involve no emotional tone.1999, Barbara Hanawalt, Medieval crime and social control, page 73
retribution meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
retribution in Hindi
- retribution
- जज़ा jazā
- retribution, revenge
- सज़ा sazā
retribution in Urdu
- retribution
- خمیازه xamyāza, سزا sazā
retribution in Bengali
- প্রতিফল, শাস্তি
retribution in Malayalam
- പകരം വീട്ടൽ, മടക്കിക്കൊടുക്കൽ, പ്രതികാരം
More languagesFewer languages
- retribution in Kannada
- ಪಾಪಫಲ, ತಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ, ಪ್ರತೀಕಾರ, ಶಾಸ್ತಿ
- retribution in Tagalog
- gantindusa
- retribution in Arabic
- عِقَاب ʕiqāb, اِنْتِقَام intiqām
- retribution in Malay
- balasan
- retribution in Persian
- پادافراه pâdefrâh, انتقام enteqâm
Examples of retribution in a sentence
- Shame!’), could trigger an urge for retribution regardless of her intention.
- Here, it is said, MacDonalds of Glencoe hid their lifted beasts when retribution threatened.
- The retribution for those who failed to help bushrangers could be severe.
Forms of retribution
| plural | retributions |
|---|
Origin of retribution
PIE word *tréyes From Latin retribuere (“repay”).
Words formed from retribution
Words that rhyme with retribution
- distribution
- resolution
- institution
- evolution
- involution
- ablution
- revolution
- convolution
- execution
- solution
- absolution
- constitution
26 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- devolution
- dilution
- pollution
- restitution
- attribution
- circumlocution
- contribution
- destitution
- dissolution
- prosecution
- substitution
- diminution
- lilliputian
- prostitution
- Lucian
- robot revolution
- Rosicrucian
- Aleutian
- Confucian
- coresolution
- coupvolution
- Eeveelution
- elution
- nocturnal pollution
- persecution
- robolution
Questions about retribution
- What does retribution mean?
- Retribution means punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance.
- What is retribution in Hindi?
- Retribution in Hindi is जज़ा (jazā), सज़ा (sazā). See Retribution meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is retribution?
- Retribution is a noun.
- How do you pronounce retribution?
- Retribution is pronounced /ˌɹɛt.ɹɪˈbju.ʃən/.
- What is the plural of retribution?
- The plural of retribution is retributions.
Words near retribution in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: retribution (page history and authors); जज़ा (Hindi) (page history and authors); خمیازه (Urdu) (page history and authors); retribution (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retribution (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retribution (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-retribution.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-retribution.wav.
Cite this entry: “retribution.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retribution. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.