the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life; "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"--Romans 12:19; "For vengeance I would do nothing. This nation is too great to look for mere revenge"--James Garfield; "he swore vengeance on the man who betrayed him"; "the swiftness of divine retribution"
make a counterattack and return like for like, especially evil for evil; "The Empire strikes back"; "The Giants struck back and won the opener"; "The Israeli army retaliated for the Hamas bombing"
English linguist who contributed to linguistic semantics and to prosodic phonology and who was noted for his insistence on studying both sound and meaning in context (1890-1960)
(often followed by `for') in exchange or in reciprocation; "gave up our seats on the plane and in return received several hundred dollars and seats on the next plane out"; "we get many benefits in return for our taxes"
impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on; "The students were penalized for showing up late for class"; "we had to punish the dog for soiling the floor again"