From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishreprisalre‧pri‧sal /rɪˈpraɪzəl/ noun [countable, uncountable] REVENGEsomething violent or harmful which you do to punish someone for something bad they have done to you → revenge, retaliation They didn’t tell the police for fear of reprisal.reprisal against There were reprisals against unarmed civilians.in reprisal (for something) Alfred was shot in reprisal for the killing of a rival gang member.
Examples from the Corpus
reprisal• His murder was a reprisal for an injury to a rival gang member.• A reprisal for her unwillingness to co-operate last night?• Business as usual was good for many; others feared reprisals from white bosses if they got too political.• Even though they were alive, my parents were afraid to write to them for fear of further reprisals against them.• It was claimed that it made rural communities vulnerable to guerrilla reprisals.• In the distance smoke rose over the old city, where Hindu mobs were massacring Sikhs in reprisal for Indira's assassination.• Some people will not report attacks to the police for fear of reprisals.• Demonstrators surged through the capital city yesterday, ignoring threats of reprisals from the government.• Between 1953 and 1955, the United States could have effectively destroyed the Soviet Union with little likelihood of serious reprisal.• He'd lost a cousin and some good friends in these reprisals.reprisal against• There were reprisals against unarmed civilians.Origin reprisal (1400-1500) Old French reprisaille, from Old Italian, from riprendere “to take back” 