reprisal

noun

re·​pri·​sal ri-ˈprī-zəl How to pronounce reprisal (audio)
1
: a retaliatory act
2
: the regaining of something (as by recapture)
3
: something (such as a sum of money) given or paid in restitution
usually used in plural
4
a
: the act or practice in international law of resorting to force short of war in retaliation for damage or loss suffered
b
: an instance of such action
5
obsolete : prize

Examples of reprisal in a Sentence

Enemy officers suffered harsh reprisals. The allies threatened economic reprisals against the invading country. The hostages were taken in reprisal for the bombing.
Recent Examples on the Web The family did not want to use their full names out of fear of reprisals from Israeli authorities. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR, 3 Mar. 2024 In response to the attack, Israeli forces killed a Hezbollah operative, with Lebanese media reporting the deaths of three civilians in the Israeli reprisal. Forbes International, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 The reprisals by security forces, however, were far more sweeping, according to historical records. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024 There were always big press conferences afterward, with the police officers wearing balaclavas to avoid being identified for reprisals. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2024 Lena, who gave only her first name for fear of reprisal, started to cry. Valerie Hopkins, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 This would meaningfully degrade Iranian combat capacity, signal America’s willingness to escalate, and come with only limited risk of strategic reprisals. Seth Cropsey, National Review, 10 Feb. 2024 Hamas used the raid as an excuse to target Jerusalem with rockets, which brought yet more violence in Israel and another round of Israeli reprisals in Gaza. Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2024 But even as Trump spewed fiery threats, his administration was attempting to stave off reprisals from Iran that could have spun things out of control. Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reprisal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English reprisail, from Anglo-French reprisaile, from Medieval Latin represalia, from Old Italian rappresaglia, ultimately from ripreso, past participle of riprendere to take back, from ri- re- (from Latin re-) + prendere to take, from Latin prehendere — more at get

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4a

Time Traveler
The first known use of reprisal was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near reprisal

Cite this Entry

“Reprisal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprisal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

reprisal

noun
re·​pri·​sal ri-ˈprī-zəl How to pronounce reprisal (audio)
1
: the use of force short of war by one nation against another in return for damage or loss suffered
economic reprisals
2
: an act of getting back at especially in war

Legal Definition

reprisal

noun
re·​pri·​sal ri-ˈprī-zəl How to pronounce reprisal (audio)
1
a
: the act or practice in international law of resorting to force short of war in retaliation for damage or loss suffered
b
: an instance of such action
2
: a retaliatory act
may not fire a complaining employee in reprisal
Etymology

Anglo-French reprisaile reprisaille, from Middle French, from Old Italian ripresaglia, from ripreso, past participle of riprendere to take back, from ri- back + prendere to take, from Latin prehendere

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