reprisal

[ ri-prahy-zuhl ]

noun

1. (in warfare) retaliation against an enemy, for injuries received, by the infliction of equal or greater injuries.

   Synonyms: redress

2. an act or instance of retaliation.
3. the action or practice of using force, short of war, against another nation, to secure redress of a grievance.
4. the forcible seizure of property or subjects in retaliation.

reprisal

/ rɪˈpraɪzəl /

noun

1. often plural retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime, such as the execution of prisoners of war, destruction of property, etc
2. the act or an instance of retaliation in any form
3. (formerly) the forcible seizure of the property or subjects of one nation by another

reprisal

1. An act by which a nation seeks, short of war, to redress a wrong committed against it by another nation. Boycotts and blockades are common forms of reprisal.

Other Words From

• nonre·prisal noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of reprisal¹

1400–50; late Middle English reprisail < Old French reprisaille. See reprise, -al ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of reprisal¹

C15: from Old French reprisaille , from Old Italian ripresaglia , from riprendere to recapture, from Latin reprehendere to hold fast; see reprehend

Synonym Study

See revenge.

Example Sentences

Helen says this, and the fear of reprisal, stopped her from speaking out for more than three decades.

From BBC

Three asked me to withhold their last names out of fear of reprisal for what they might say.

From Slate

Like a harbinger of some twisted future, he speaks of a purge—a single, merciless day of reckoning — where lawlessness would be met with brutal reprisal.

From Salon

In the end, Iran’s 180 ballistic missiles were fired mainly at Israeli military sites and other security installations, not civilian targets — the attack apparently constrained to avoid provoking a devastating Israeli reprisal.

From Los Angeles Times

So, as so often, it is members of the Peul community who find themselves the prime targets for such brutal reprisal in a nation desperately in need of peace and stability.

From BBC

Related Words

• retaliation
• retribution
• vengeance