retaliate

«retaliate» in Mova's school dictionary: To do something bad back to someone who has hurt or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (retaliate, retaliates, retaliated, retaliating)

meaning for a pupil

To do something bad back to someone who has hurt or attacked you; to hit back. tree →

sense in the lessons

In PSHE and school rules, pupils are told not to retaliate but to tell an adult. In history and news, countries retaliate after attacks. Phrases: retaliate against, retaliate by.

examples

• If someone pushes you, don't retaliate; tell a teacher. tree →
• He retaliated by throwing sand. tree →
• The army retaliated after the attack. tree →
• She was sent off for retaliating. tree →
• The cat retaliated with a scratch. tree →
• Don't retaliate, it only makes things worse. tree →

note

Regular verb: retaliated. Noun: retaliation. Similar: hit back, get even, take revenge.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «retaliate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.