Penalty
Penalty noun - Suffering, loss, or hardship imposed in response to a crime or offense.
Usage example: in some cases, the new penalties for drug offenses were harsher than those for violent crimes
Retaliation and penalty are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Retaliation" instead a noun "Penalty".
Retaliation
Retaliation noun - The act or an instance of responding to an injury with an injury.
Usage example: police believe that the murder was in retaliation for an earlier gangland execution
Penalty and retaliation are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Penalty" instead a noun "Retaliation".
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- reward and penalty
- reward and retaliation
- payment and penalty
- payment and retaliation
- compensation and penalty
- compensation and retaliation
- desert and penalty
- desert and retaliation
- redress and penalty
- redress and retaliation
- justice and penalty
- justice and retaliation
- reprisal and penalty
- reprisal and retaliation
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
- If the miscarriage leads to the death penalty, The Judge is prepared to execute in retaliation as well.
Source: Milkman Conspiracy - During a post-fumble pileup in a 2010 game, one Texas A&M player executed this trope against Nebraska's Ben Cotton, presumably to draw a personal-foul penalty for retaliation.
Source: Groin Attack / Real Life - According to the beginning of the play, it's supposed to be the death penalty for violence in the city, but Romeo killed Tybalt in retaliation for him killing Mercutio, earning the reprieve.
Source: Persona Non Grata
Cite this Source
Retaliation and Penalty. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 01, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/penalty/retaliation
Penalty & Retaliation. N.p., 2016. Web. 01 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/penalty/retaliation>.
Retaliation or Penalty. 2016. Accessed August 01, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/penalty/retaliation.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "penalty" and "retaliation" have occurred on timeline