Retributive
adjective
Related to punishment given in return for a wrong act.
The justice system is often criticized for being too retributive rather than rehabilitative.
Often appears as...
- retributive justice
- retributive punishment
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
adjective
Intended to make someone suffer because they have done something wrong.
The warlords took retributive action against the rebel forces.
Often appears as...
- retributive action
- retributive force
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
adjective
Related to punishment given in return for a wrong act.
The justice system is often criticized for being too retributive rather than rehabilitative.
Often appears as...
- retributive justice
- retributive punishment
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
adjective
Intended to make someone suffer because they have done something wrong.
The warlords took retributive action against the rebel forces.
Often appears as...
- retributive action
- retributive force
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Indicates a negative judgment on someone's actions, suggesting a desire for punishment.
His retributive stance was clear when he demanded jail time for the crime.
Pro Tip 2/3Justice System
Often used in discussions about the legal system and its focus on punishment.
Activists argue that retributive practices don't reduce crime rates.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Rehabilitative
Stresses the punishment aspect, as opposed to methods that aim to reform offenders.
The judge rejected a retributive sentence, instead opting for community rehabilitation.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Indicates a negative judgment on someone's actions, suggesting a desire for punishment.
His retributive stance was clear when he demanded jail time for the crime.
Pro Tip 2/3Justice System
Often used in discussions about the legal system and its focus on punishment.
Activists argue that retributive practices don't reduce crime rates.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Rehabilitative
Stresses the punishment aspect, as opposed to methods that aim to reform offenders.
The judge rejected a retributive sentence, instead opting for community rehabilitation.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Indicates a negative judgment on someone's actions, suggesting a desire for punishment.
His retributive stance was clear when he demanded jail time for the crime.
Pro Tip 2/3Justice System
Often used in discussions about the legal system and its focus on punishment.
Activists argue that retributive practices don't reduce crime rates.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Rehabilitative
Stresses the punishment aspect, as opposed to methods that aim to reform offenders.
The judge rejected a retributive sentence, instead opting for community rehabilitation.
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Video examples
The biology of our best...
with their herds of camels, cows, goats, odds are they would have invented what's called a culture of honor filled with warrior classes, retributive violence, clan vendettas, and amazingly, centuries later, that would still be influencing the values with which you were raised.
Video examples
The biology of our best...
with their herds of camels, cows, goats, odds are they would have invented what's called a culture of honor filled with warrior classes, retributive violence, clan vendettas, and amazingly, centuries later, that would still be influencing the values with which you were raised.
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Megan Phelps-Roper
American Activist
Whenever people would speculate about the death of my grandfather it was always this very retributive thing. That they were going to picket his funeral after all the things that he had done to so many other people. That vindictiveness is obviously completely understandable. It would make perfect sense.
Quote examples
Ann Widdecombe
British Politician
History is not merely a procession of people in fancy dress fighting wars. It is crucially the story of man's evolution from grunting cave dweller to serious thinker, from cruelly retributive law to merciful law, from casual barbarism to care and compassion.
Quote examples
Lewis B. Smedes
American Author
Restorative justice is not a replacement of retributive justice, but a complement. It seeks the rehabilitation of the wrongdoer and the repair of the victim's injury.
Quote examples
Lewis B. Smedes
American Author
Retributive justice did not arise from any Christian principle; almost every pre-Christian society dealt with wrongdoers by causing them pain.
Quote examples
Paddy Ashdown
British Politician
I can establish the expectation of retributive justice. Have we done that? No.
Quote examples
Megan Phelps-Roper
American Activist
Whenever people would speculate about the death of my grandfather it was always this very retributive thing. That they were going to picket his funeral after all the things that he had done to so many other people. That vindictiveness is obviously completely understandable. It would make perfect sense.
Quote examples
Ann Widdecombe
British Politician
History is not merely a procession of people in fancy dress fighting wars. It is crucially the story of man's evolution from grunting cave dweller to serious thinker, from cruelly retributive law to merciful law, from casual barbarism to care and compassion.
Quote examples
Lewis B. Smedes
American Author
Restorative justice is not a replacement of retributive justice, but a complement. It seeks the rehabilitation of the wrongdoer and the repair of the victim's injury.
Quote examples
Lewis B. Smedes
American Author
Retributive justice did not arise from any Christian principle; almost every pre-Christian society dealt with wrongdoers by causing them pain.
Quote examples
Paddy Ashdown
British Politician
I can establish the expectation of retributive justice. Have we done that? No.
Example 1 of 5
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