reprisal

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reprisal

retaliation against an enemy; redress; revenge

Not to be confused with:

reprise – to repeat; in music: a return to the first theme

re·pri·sal

(rĭ-prī′zəl)

1. The act or an instance of retaliating for a loss or injury.

2. The act or practice of forcibly seizing an enemy's goods or citizens in retaliation for a loss or injury inflicted.

[Middle English reprisail, from Old French reprisaille, from Old Italian ripresaglia, from ripreso, past participle of riprendere, to take back, from Latin reprehendere, reprēndere, to take hold of; see reprehend.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

reprisal

(rɪˈpraɪzəl)

1. (Military) (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. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (formerly) the forcible seizure of the property or subjects of one nation by another

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

re•pris•al

(rɪˈpraɪ zəl)

n.

1. retaliation against an enemy by the infliction of equal or greater injuries.

2. an act or instance of retaliation.

3. the action or practice of using countermeasures against another nation to secure redress of a grievance.

[1400–50; late Middle English reprisail < Old French reprisaille. See reprise, -al²]

syn: See revenge.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

reprisal - a retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime

retaliation, revenge - action taken in return for an injury or offense

reprisal

noun retaliation, revenge, vengeance, retribution, an eye for an eye, counterstroke, requital fear of reprisal or ostracism

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

reprisal

noun

The act of retaliating:

counteraction, counterattack, counterblow, reciprocation, requital, retaliation, retribution, revenge, tit for tat, vengeance.

Idioms: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, like for like , measure for measure .

Translations

عَمَل إنْتِقامي

odveta

gengældelse

Repressalie Vergeltungsmaßnahme

représaille représailles

refsiaîgerî

rappresaglia

atkeršijimasatsakomasis veiksmas

atmaksaatriebība

gjengjeldelsesaksjon represalie

misilleme

报复

reprisal

[rɪˈpraɪzəl] N → represalia f
to take reprisals → tomar represalias
as a reprisal for → como represalia por
by way of reprisal → a modo de represalia

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

reprisal

[rɪˈpraɪz^əl] n → représailles fpl
to take reprisals → user de représailles

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

reprisal

n (→ gegen) → Vergeltungsmaßnahme f; (between companies, countries etc also) → Repressalie f; to take reprisals → zu Repressalien greifen; as a reprisal for → als Vergeltung für

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

reprisal

[rɪˈpraɪz/əl] n reprisals npl → rappresaglie fpl
to take reprisals → fare delle rappresaglie
as a reprisal for → come rappresaglia per

reprisal

(rəˈpraizəl) noun

something bad done to someone in return for something bad he has done to one; an act of revenge.

References in classic literature ?

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

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Letters of reprisal were granted, and a war ensued, which in its consequences overthrew all the alliances that but twenty years before had been formed with sanguine expectations of the most beneficial fruits.

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"No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver a legal tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility."

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This immediately put her on the defensive, and with one of those sudden impulses of reprisal to which she was liable she gave him a little push from her.

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Such hideous misgovernment as generations of your countrymen had suffered was logically bound to bring its own reprisal."

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With that they parted; Mr Swiveller to make the best of his way home and sleep himself sober; and Quilp to cogitate upon the discovery he had made, and exult in the prospect of the rich field of enjoyment and reprisal it opened to him.

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By command of their father, the tents were thrown into the vehicles, as a sort of reprisal for the want of faith in their late ally, and then the train left the spot, in its usual listless and sluggish order.

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But White Fang's reprisals did not cease, even when the young dogs had learned thoroughly that they must stay together.

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They would smouch provisions from the pantry whenever they got a chance; or a brass thimble, or a cake of wax, or an emery bag, or a paper of needles, or a silver spoon, or a dollar bill, or small articles of clothing, or any other property of light value; and so far were they from considering such reprisals sinful, that they would go to church and shout and pray the loudest and sincerest with their plunder in their pockets.

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However, on the 26th, appeased by some presents, and understanding that they had no reprisals to fear, they led M.

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It is true that the enemies of the cardinal said that it was he himself who set these bungling assassins to work, in order to have, if wanted, the right of using reprisals; but we must not believe everything ministers say, nor everything their enemies say.

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Beside this, he recommended the organization of minor war parties, to make reprisals to the extent of the losses sustained.