RETALIATIVE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

retaliative

adjective

Definition of retaliative

as in retaliatory

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retaliative

Adjective

In less than 48 hours, five people were killed, and as many as 10 others were injured in multiple shootings across Baltimore, prompting Mayor Brandon Scott to call a meeting with police command staff to discuss efforts to stop retaliatory violence.

— Tara Lynch, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
The targeting of civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, particularly airports, illustrates the retaliatory logic the Houthis have invoked to justify their actions.

— Laurent Bonnefoy, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of retaliatory

Adjective

The interviewees were willing to talk openly and honestly about Trump covered by anonymity, a necessity to protect them from this fiercely thin-skinned and retributive president.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 25 June 2026
And there’s no question that Israel was pursuing both a political agenda as well as retributive-justice agenda.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2026

Definition of retributive

Adjective

In recent years, affirmative litigation has become an essential tool for defending against punitive federal policy and recovering public funds, Pines and others said.

— Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Trump has slapped tariffs on the Brazilian economy and punitive sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, the chief justice most heavily involved in the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of punitive

Adjective

For Beccaria, an execution’s fleeting spectacle deterred less effectively than lifelong penal servitude.

— Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
Their ruling states that investigators should not have cited penal law as justification for seizing the artwork, and reproaches a lower court’s previous approval of their methods.

— Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of penal

Adjective

In general, correctional officers should not be involved with inmates’ medical decisions, but health care providers do not have the authority to remove restraints; such decisions reside with the correctional facility.

— M. Sara Rosenthal, STAT, 13 Oct. 2026
Just under 34,000 employees work for the agency, but not all are correctional officers.

— Scott Peyton, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of correctional

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Browse Nearby Words

retaliations

retaliative

retaliatory

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“Retaliative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retaliative. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of retaliative

adjective

Example Sentences

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