retaliate

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /rɪˈtæliˌeɪt/ UK /rɪˈtælieɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to return an injury or wrong; to take revenge

The country threatened to retaliate against the new trade tariffs.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to return an injury or... avenge reciprocate revenge retortcounterattackreprise

Opposites

forgive pardon overlook

Word family

Forms retaliatory

Derived forms retaliationretaliatorretaliatory

Related forms retaliationretaliatorytalion

Etymology

From Latin retaliare ('to pay back in kind'), from re- ('back') + talio ('retaliation, punishment in kind'), from talis ('such, of such a kind').

retaliare Latin talio Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# retaliate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /rɪˈtæliˌeɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈtælieɪt/

## Meanings
1. to return an injury or wrong; to take revenge

## Examples
- The country threatened to retaliate against the new trade tariffs.

## Synonyms
- avenge
- reciprocate
- revenge
- retort
- counterattack
- reprise

## Antonyms
- forgive
- pardon
- overlook

## Derived Forms
- retaliation
- retaliator
- retaliatory

## Related Forms
- retaliation
- retaliatory
- talion

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: retaliare
- Root: talio

## Etymology
From Latin retaliare ('to pay back in kind'), from re- ('back') + talio ('retaliation, punishment in kind'), from talis ('such, of such a kind').

## AI Etymology
Retaliate comes from Latin retaliare ('to pay back in kind'), from re- ('back') + talio ('retaliation, punishment in kind'), from talis ('such, of such a kind'). The historical chain includes Latin retaliare and Latin talio. Older glosses in the chain include "to pay back in kind", "back", "retaliation, punishment in kind", and "such, of such a kind", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, retaliate is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to return an injury or wrong; to take revenge". English derivatives include retaliation, retaliator, and retaliatory; related forms include retaliation, retaliatory, and talion. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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