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Punish vs Retaliate - What's the difference?

punish | retaliate |

As verbs the difference between punish and retaliate

is that punish is to cause to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action while retaliate is to do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harm; to fight back or respond in kind to an injury or affront.

punish

English

Verb

(es)
  • To cause to suffer for crime or misconduct, to administer disciplinary action.
  • To cause great harm to. (a punishing blow )
  • To dumb down severely or to the point of uselessness or near-uselessness.
  • Synonyms

    * (to cause to suffer for crime or misconduct ) castigate

    Derived terms

    * punishable * punisher (noun ) * punishment (noun ) * (l) and (l) (through portmanteau with (etyl) )

    retaliate

    English

    Verb

    (retaliat)
  • To do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harm; to fight back or respond in kind to an injury or affront.
  • John insulted Peter to retaliate for Peter's acid remark earlier.
  • To repay or requite by an act of the same kind.
  • * Sir T. Herbert
  • One ambassador sent word to the duke's son that his visit should be retaliated .
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • It is unlucky to be obliged to retaliate the injuries of authors, whose works are so soon forgotten that we are in danger of appearing the first aggressors.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * retaliation * retaliative * retaliatory

    References

    Anagrams

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