as in reparation
payment to another for a loss or injury
a peace agreement that was rejected because it contained no provisions for reprisals
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Recent Examples of reprisals
Mahamat said the cycle of reprisals had spread over a fairly large area, prompting an intervention by the army.
—
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The residence of Mali’s defense minister, Sadio Camara, was heavily damaged by an explosion during the attack, a nearby shopkeeper told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
—Mark Banchereau, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Maykol, a 25-year-old Havana resident who asked me to use just his first name to avoid regime reprisals, told me that lengthy power outages, already frequent before January, now occur daily.
—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
Those two films are commonly described as meditations on the futility of violence in a world where justice takes the form of endless attacks and reprisals.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Blackwell and Bennett said some of their teammates are still involved in the sport and do not want to face any reprisals.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Her return to Venezuela would be combustible—Rodríguez has already threatened reprisals—but potentially transformative.
—Boris Muñoz, Time, 3 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Barzani’s movement collapsed within weeks, and Iraqi forces launched reprisals that displaced hundreds of thousands of Kurdish civilians.
—John Calabrese, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The residence of Mali’s defense minister, Sadio Camara, was heavily damaged by an explosion during the attack, a nearby shopkeeper told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
—Mark Banchereau, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Maykol, a 25-year-old Havana resident who asked me to use just his first name to avoid regime reprisals, told me that lengthy power outages, already frequent before January, now occur daily.
—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
Those two films are commonly described as meditations on the futility of violence in a world where justice takes the form of endless attacks and reprisals.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
Blackwell and Bennett said some of their teammates are still involved in the sport and do not want to face any reprisals.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Her return to Venezuela would be combustible—Rodríguez has already threatened reprisals—but potentially transformative.
—Boris Muñoz, Time, 3 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the movie’s villains — played by recognizable faces, among them Heather Graham and Tom Felton — get pretty much zero by way of personality, or even superficial nastiness, making Asia’s reprisals a whole lot less entertaining.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Barzani’s movement collapsed within weeks, and Iraqi forces launched reprisals that displaced hundreds of thousands of Kurdish civilians.
—John Calabrese, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reprisals
Noun
-
Instead, reparations for the more than 65,000 victims will be paid by the Trust Fund for Victims, set up by the court’s member states to distribute the funds.—
Molly Quell,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
While there is a respectable moral case to be made for some form of reparations, Tubbs appears to be excessively fixated on policy ideas that would bankrupt our state if actually implemented.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
During closing arguments, Lynn Johnson, an attorney for Christine and Christopher Nolte, suggested the jury award $10 million for noneconomic damages and $5 million for economic damages.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Tom Steyer The Democratic billionaire hedge fund founder who is positioning himself as the climate candidate in the race touted his drive to make oil companies pay for damages from climate change, including rising insurance rates and homes lost to wildfires.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reprisals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reprisals. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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