Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb retaliate

2 senses of retaliate

Sense 1
revenge, avenge, retaliate -- (take revenge for a perceived wrong; "He wants to avenge the murder of his brother")
       => punish, penalize, penalise -- (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")

Sense 2
retaliate, strike back -- (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")
       => strike, hit -- (make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target; "The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939"; "We must strike the enemy's oil fields"; "in the fifth inning, the Giants struck, sending three runners home to win the game 5 to 2")