retribution
noun
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With its prefix re-, meaning "back", retribution means literally "payback". And indeed we usually use it when talking about personal revenge, whether it's retribution for an insult in a high-school corridor or retribution for a guerrilla attack on a government building. But retribution isn't always so personal: God takes "divine retribution" on humans several times in the Old Testament, especially in the great Flood that wipes out almost the entire human race. And retribution for criminal acts, usually in the form of a prison sentence, is taken by the state, not the victims.
Synonyms
Examples of retribution in a Sentence
David Ansen, Newsweek, 16 June 1986
The two purposes that sustain the death penalty … in the Court's view are general deterrence and retribution.
—Thurgood Marshall, Gregg v. Georgia, 1976
" … As for Cordelia, she went insane with remorse and was shut up in a lunatic asylum. I thought that was a poetical retribution for her crime."
—Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908
The killer acted without fear of retribution.
the neighborhood is being torn apart by an endless cycle of gang violence and retribution
Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 21 May 2024
Amal, who preferred to go by his first name for fear of retribution, took a slow drag of his cigarette, fiddling with a pack in his other hand.
—Christina Goldbaum, New York Times, 19 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for retribution 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'retribution.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Retribution.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retribution. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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retribution
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