retaliate
To do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harmTo do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harm; to fight back or respond in kind to an injury or affront.
» We've decided to retaliate.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(intransitive)To do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harm; to fight back or respond in kind to an injury or affront.
John insulted Peter to retaliate for Peter's acid remark earlier.
Many companies have policies in place to prevent bosses from retaliating against allegations of harassment.
Vergeltung üben, sich rächen
мститьmstitʹ, отомсти́тьotomstítʹ
мсти́тиmstýty, помсти́тиpomstýty
(transitive)To repay or requite by an act of the same kind.
- make a counterattack and return like for like, especially evil for evil
- take revenge for a perceived wrong
Examples
21 sentencesWe've decided to retaliate.
They might retaliate.
ruОни могут отплатить тем же. — sharptoothed
deSie könnten sich rächen. — Yorwba
Ziri said he will retaliate tomorrow.
I think you're retaliating against me.
They have the right to retaliate.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Latin retāliātus, past participle of retāliō (“to requite, retaliate”).From Latin retāliātus, past participle of retāliō (“to requite, retaliate”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
retaliates, retaliating, retaliated, retaliated| Base form | retaliate · to retaliate |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | retaliates |
| Present participle | retaliating |
| Past simple | retaliated |
| Past participle | retaliated |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
3 synonyms- make a counterattack and return like for like, especially evil for evil:strike back
- take revenge for a perceived wrong:revengeavenge
Word family
7 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle