Synonyms for retribution
All synonyms
Noun
1. Vengeance
vengeance, revenge, retaliation, reprisal, recompense, payback, reward, compensation, return, payment, repayment, restitution, remuneration
Other
Definitions
- n. 1
Punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance.
Related words
- Is a kind of
- punishment
Forms
- Plural
- retributions → vengeances, revenges, retaliations, reprisals…
Choose the right word
Avenging and retribution give a solemn sense of exact justice, avenging being more personal in its infliction, whether by God or man, and retribution the impersonal visitation of the doom of righteous law.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- revenge I'll take my revenge on him at all costs tomorrow.
- vengeance She wanted vengeance because she was not invited.
- retaliation Threats of retaliation are blocking negotiations.
- reprisal General Jackson vowed a reprisal for the death of his men.
- penalty He lobbied for the abolition of the death penalty.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| retribution | rising | |
| revenge | rising | |
| vengeance | rising | |
| retaliation | rising | |
| reprisal | falling | |
| penalty | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- return2, reward2
- 7 letters
- payment2, penalty3, revenge2, payback2
- 8 letters
- reprisal3, requital
- 9 letters
- vengeance2, repayment3
- 10 letters
- punishment3, visitation4, recompense3
- 11 letters
- retaliation5, restitution4
- 12 letters
- compensation4, remuneration5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (return2 = 2 syllables).