reprisal
n.n. an act of revenge or punishment taken against someone who did something bad to you. It is a formal word for getting back at someone in a serious way.
n. an act of revenge or retaliation against a perceived wrong or injury. Often used in legal or formal contexts to describe a response to a prior action.
The company faced a legal reprisal after the scandal.
The local community organized a peaceful protest as a form of reprisal against the factory's pollution.
Historians often debate whether the military's aggressive reprisal was a necessary defense or a disproportionate escalation of the conflict.
From Anglo-Norman reprisaille (French représaille), from Old Italian ripresaglia (Italian rappresaglia), from ripreso, past participle of riprendere (“to take back”), from Latin reprendere, earlier reprehendere (see reprehend).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 20, 2026