Definition of "reprisal" []

• Retaliation for an injury with the intent of inflicting at least as much injury in return. (noun)
• Forcible seizure of an enemy's goods or subjects in retaliation for injuries inflicted. (noun)
• The practice of using political or military force without actually resorting to war. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "But now, without any provocation, and without the justification of reprisal or retaliation, a refusal to outlaw the use of the bomb save in reprisal is making a political purpose of its possession; this is hardly pardonable."
• "Among them was the Popular Resistance Committees, the group Israel almost immediately blamed for the attack, and promptly launched what it called a reprisal strike."
• "Jones says Jesus would approve of his plan for "Burn a Koran Day," which he calls a reprisal for Islamist terrorism."