Basic Details
Word: Retaliate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To do something harmful or unkind back to someone because they did something to you.
Synonyms: hit back, strike back, take revenge
Antonyms: forgive, pardon
Word origin: From Latin retaliare, to pay back in kind, from talio, punishment equal to the harm done.
How to Spell Retaliate
Syllables: re - tal - i - ate
Tricky part: It has four syllables, re-tal-i-ate, with one t after re and one l. Students often lose the i before ate or double the l.
Watch out for: retalliate, retalate, retaliat
Memory tip: Think of the old law of an eye for an eye, in Latin lex talionis: talio gives you tal-i, and then you add ate.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The striker was sent off for retaliating after a hard tackle.
Example 2: If you retaliate every time someone teases you, the teasing will never stop.
Example 3: The bees retaliated when the boys poked their hive.
Fun Fact
Some plants fight back too. When caterpillars chew a tomato leaf, the plant makes chemicals that make its leaves harder for insects to digest.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. apreciate 2. abreviate 3. anticipait 4. retaliate
a) to value something or be grateful for it
b) to hurt someone back after they hurt you
c) to expect something to happen
d) to make a word or phrase shorter
Show answer
b) to hurt someone back after they hurt you. Appreciate and abbreviate each need a double letter, and anticipate ends in ate; retaliate is correct.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word retaliate as used in the sentence:
When the bigger boys snatched his ball, Kabir chose not to retaliate and called a teacher instead.
a) give up
b) hit back
c) calm down
d) run away
Show answer
b) hit back. Kabir could have hit back at the boys; he went to a teacher instead.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
ret_l_ate
a) a, e
b) o, i
c) e, i
d) a, i
Show answer
d) a, i. Say the four beats, re-tal-i-ate: an a in tal, and the i that is so easy to skip.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A country that retaliates after an attack ____.
a) asks for peace
b) forgets the attack
c) attacks in return
d) pays the attacker
Show answer
c) attacks in return
2. Which word is the noun of retaliate?
a) retention
b) relation
c) retaliation
d) retailer
Show answer
c) retaliation
