as in retaliatory
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Recent Examples of retributive
Rather, the Chinese Communist Party is also given credit for its ability to satisfy the public’s strong desire for retributive justice.
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Dan Chen, The Conversation, 24 June 2024
Earlier this year, in a clear attempt to encourage retributive attacks in the United States, ISIS reported that U.S. forces had destroyed Iraq’s al-Nuri mosque.
—Michael S. Smith Ii, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2017
A week later, Hamas attacked military and civilian sites in Israel, and Israel began its retributive campaign against Gaza.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 27 June 2024
No doubt there will be clear or hidden retributive acts against Bates for endorsing Dixon.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 20 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for retributive 
Dan Chen, The Conversation, 24 June 2024
Earlier this year, in a clear attempt to encourage retributive attacks in the United States, ISIS reported that U.S. forces had destroyed Iraq’s al-Nuri mosque.
—Michael S. Smith Ii, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2017
A week later, Hamas attacked military and civilian sites in Israel, and Israel began its retributive campaign against Gaza.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 27 June 2024
No doubt there will be clear or hidden retributive acts against Bates for endorsing Dixon.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 20 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for retributive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retributive
Adjective
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Eventually, this revengeful streak will result in loneliness and isolation.Nicole Froio, refinery29.com, 29 Oct. 2024
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Artemis was revengeful toward anyone who trespassed in wild nature, and trespassing could mean neglect, like not paying your dues.Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 20 June 2023
Adjective
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European tech leaders are concerned about the risk that punitive EU measures on U.S. tech firms could provoke a reaction from Trump, which might in turn cause the bloc to soften its approach.Ryan Browne, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025
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The former manager eventually filed an official police report in Detroit, and his attorneys are now asking for punitive and exemplary damages as well as general damages.Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The presiding judge in the New York trial in which writer E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of abusing her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room wrote that Carroll failed to prove that she was raped within the narrow scope of the New York penal law.Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 19 Dec. 2024
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But when a president, at the end of his term in office, in the interest of fairness, corrects mistakes made by the penal system during his or a previous president's term, that is often a grace note of his time in office.Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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At the time Cedars suspended Brock’s privileges, a spokesperson for the medical center said that privacy laws prohibited it from confirming the existence of any patient complaints or disciplinary action taken against Brock before 2024.Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2025
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King had already been due to face disciplinary action in the U.S. after his release from South Korean detention.Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near retributive
Cite this Entry
“Retributive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retributive. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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