What's the difference between retaliation and retribution?

Retaliation


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of retaliating, or of returning like for like; retribution; now, specifically, the return of evil for evil; e.g., an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Jordanian officials are aware of possible retaliation from an increasingly cornered Damascus, which this week accused Amman of "playing with fire" by opening its border to a military push.
  • (2) Tehran might also decide to retaliate by stepping up military support for Houthi Shia rebels in Yemen, who are fighting a Saudi-led alliance.
  • (3) In 2004, the dispute settlement body , the "judicial branch" of the WTO, ruled that the US had to reform its cotton subsidies or face "retaliation" from Brazil.
  • (4) Iran has vowed to retaliate against the ISA extension, passed unanimously on Thursday, saying it violated last year’s agreement with six major powers to curb its nuclear programme in return for lifting of international financial sanctions.
  • (5) There is all sorts of opacity which makes it easy for an employee to suffer retaliation.” Despite recent reforms to improve transparency and accountability, the organisation remains impervious to public scrutiny, with no established mechanism for freedom of information – a right which more than 100 governments around the world have enshrined in law, and is openly advocated by UN bodies such as Unesco.
  • (6) It would be foolish to bet that Saudi Arabia will exist in its current form a generation from now.” Memories of how the Saudis and Opec deliberately triggered an economic crisis in the west in retaliation for US aid to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur war still rankle.
  • (7) Chief executive Louis Gallois said Beijing's refusal to allow Hong Kong Airlines to complete a $4bn order for the A380 super-jumbos amounted to "retaliation measures" over the policy, which came into force at the beginning of the year.
  • (8) The group repeatedly struck at Turkish cities in 2016 in retaliation for Ankara’s support for international efforts to suppress its activities in Syria and Iraq.
  • (9) Britain's high commissioner described him as "becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism" – and was expelled in retaliation .
  • (10) The Syrian military, overstretched by the civil war, has not retaliated, and it was not clear whether the embattled Syrian leader would choose to take action this time.
  • (11) Obama warned Moscow before the election to stop meddling, but reports have since emerged that he decided against retaliating after the CIA warned him Putin was behind it.
  • (12) The chances of retaliation against the eurozone by the Kremlin over the coming months are high.
  • (13) The top priority should be ensuring that women who report sexual abuse to not suffer retaliation by government security forces.
  • (14) Last month, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the extension would be viewed in Tehran as a breach of the nuclear accord and threatened retaliation.
  • (15) US hawks, such as senator Lindsey Graham, had suggested a boycott in retaliation for allowing Snowden to remain in the country.
  • (16) Officials in Amman concede it heightens a risk of retaliation from its increasingly cornered neighbour.
  • (17) The recent arrest of the brother, Liu Hui, may be particular retaliation for two incidents that broke the security cordon around Liu Xia and her isolation in her fifth-floor apartment in central Beijing.
  • (18) "I was afraid they might retaliate," she said, saying she feared for herself and her family after looking up secret service on the internet and seeing that some agents were sharpshooters.
  • (19) Even one destroyed life – and a 20-year sentence for a 39-year old filmmaker surely means the cruellest of all individual punishments – will lead to an even greater punishment and retaliation that may befall on the whole country.
  • (20) The UK was the first to respond with punitive measures, cutting all ties to the Iranian banking system and parliament, the Majlis, which retaliated on Sunday by calling for the expulsion of Britain's ambassador, Dominick Chilcott, and the permanent downgrading of bilateral relations.

Retribution


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of retributing; repayment.
  • (n.) That which is given in repayment or compensation; return suitable to the merits or deserts of, as an action; commonly, condign punishment for evil or wrong.
  • (n.) Specifically, reward and punishment, as distributed at the general judgment.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) But people have also faced retribution even far from Chen's home.
  • (2) Photograph: Owen Gibson Yet for those who challenge authority through their words or actions, retribution is swift.
  • (3) There are already calls for large protests in Egypt this week demanding fair trials and retribution, as well as measures to purge former regime officials from political and economic life.
  • (4) • New York 's Jonathan Chait declares Christie all but finished: "The e-mails prove that Christie’s loyalists closed the bridge deliberately as political retribution, not as a 'traffic study' as claimed.
  • (5) 9.51pm BST And now, we prepare for retribution: David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) No Senator who heeledtoday on the NRA's command should have the gall to issue mournful statements the next time gun violence strikes.
  • (6) When it also became clear that Gaddafi had secretly been developing nuclear and chemical weapons, retribution was swift.
  • (7) The four did not want to give their full names for fear of retribution.
  • (8) Meanwhile the Police Federation's attempts to extract retribution for the disputed p-word, in the form of Andrew Mitchell's sacking, have been roundly slagged off by former Labour minister Chris Mullin , who last week described the organisation as "a bully", "a bunch of headbangers" and "a mighty vested interest that has seen off just about all attempts to reform the least reformed part of the public service".
  • (9) "We owe it to them to make sure that where they are under real threat of retribution or intimidation, we look after them."
  • (10) The opposition had warned, with each stage of the “normalization” – the release on both sides of political prisoners; a deal to allow telecom companies to strengthen the internet on the island and for US banks to do business there; a US agreement to expand remittances and ease travel restrictions – that too many opponents of the Castro regime remain in prisons, or remain sentenced to silence under threat of retribution.
  • (11) Tyson Fury has no fear of retribution – he will say and do as he pleases | Kevin Mitchell Read more Every Saturday night, crowds of men from our rundown housing estate would get tanked up and go to watch those from an even lower pecking order than themselves inflict pain and humiliation on each other, while the spectators egged them on.
  • (12) The stated desire to avenge the massacre has also given rise to fears by locals from Tikrit that the militias may carry out retributive killings or summary executions.
  • (13) He is finding scapegoats for the scapegoated and demands retribution for their suffering.
  • (14) Clegg said he hoped it would "not be conducted in a mood or spirit of retribution".
  • (15) The attacks were “to avenge the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers”, a spokesman said.
  • (16) And indeed, why in such a scenario confine America's retribution to the Taliban?
  • (17) This hauteur helped her navigate the gay story: she was simply too good for that, and she was powerful enough in her younger years to be able to threaten retribution.
  • (18) On Saturday, workers voted in favor of including civil disobedience in their efforts to reach a $15-per-hour minimum wage and the right to form a union without fear of retribution from employers.
  • (19) The retribution was swift and decisive, with Blatter talking about "angels and devils".
  • (20) Finally, we propose a model that may be useful for lessening the conflict between retributive and utilitarian perspectives.