Retaliation vs Payback - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between retaliation and payback

is that retaliation is violent response to an act of harm or perceived injustice while payback is an act of revenge.

(en-noun)

Violent response to an act of harm or perceived injustice.

An act of violent response.

* {{quote-news, year=2009, date=January 13, author=, title=`Never again,' says survivor, work=Toronto Star citation

, passage=Hamas knew there would be massive retaliations .}}

* See also

(wikipedia payback)

(en-noun)

(uncountable) An act of revenge.

They beat us last year, so this year's win was payback .

(countable) A form of recompense.

* '>citation

* just deserts, poetic justice