retaliate

/rɪˈtælieɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /rɪˈtælieɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ri-ˈta-lē-ˌāt/ (ame, mw)

retaliate — 動詞

  • retaliatepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • retaliateshe / she / it
  • retaliatedpast simple
  • retaliating-ing form

1. to respond to an attack or injury by hurting the person who caused it — for inst

1.動詞不及物B2
釋義

報復

因受害而反擊；以牙還牙

to respond to an attack or injury by hurting the person who caused it — for instance, spreading rumours about someone who first spread rumours about you, or launching missiles at a country that attacked you

例句

When a colleague spread false rumours about Diego, he retaliated by reporting the incident to management.

當同事到處散播關於 Diego 的假謠言時，他透過向主管報告此事來進行報復。

retaliate + by + -ing [action]

The government vowed to retaliate against any nation that imposed unfair trade tariffs.

政府揚言要對任何實施不公平貿易關稅的國家進行報復。

retaliate + against [target]

同義詞
  • get back at

    more informal and personal; focuses on settling a score in everyday situations

  • take revenge

    stronger emotional charge; implies deliberate, often planned infliction of harm in return

  • avenge

    more formal; often used when the harm was done to someone else, not just oneself, and carries a sense of justice

反義詞
  • forgive

    to stop feeling anger towards someone who wronged you, choosing not to retaliate

  • turn the other cheek

    idiomatic; to choose not to retaliate even when attacked, often for moral or religious reasons

文法句型

retaliate + against [person/group]

retaliate + by + -ing [action]

retaliate + with [something]

用法筆記

Always intransitive — you cannot 'retaliate someone'. Use 'retaliate against [person/group]', 'retaliate by doing [something]', or 'retaliate with [method]'. Frequently appears in political, military, and interpersonal conflict contexts.

常見錯誤

❌She retaliated him for lying.
✅She retaliated against him for lying.
💡retaliate cannot take a direct object; the preposition 'against' is required before the person or group.
❌The army retaliated a surprise attack.
✅The army retaliated after a surprise attack.
💡retaliate is intransitive; the cause of retaliation should follow 'after' or 'for', not be used as a direct object.