retribution : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: retribution	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for retribution
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
retribution n a justly deserved penalty Synonym(s): retribution, requital the act of correcting for your wrongdoing the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life; "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"-- Romans 12:19; "For vengeance I would do nothing. This nation is too great to look for mere revenge"--James Garfield; "he swore vengeance on the man who betrayed him"; "the swiftness of divine retribution" Synonym(s): vengeance, retribution, payback
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Retribution \Ret`ribu"tion\, n. [L. retributio: cf. F. r[82]tribution.] 1. The act of retributing; repayment. In good offices and due retributions, we may not be pinching and niggardly. --Bp. Hall. 2. That which is given in repayment or compensation; return suitable to the merits or deserts of, as an action; commonly, condign punishment for evil or wrong. All who have their reward on earth, . . . Naught seeking but the praise of men, here find Fit retribution, empty as their deeds. --Milton. 3. Specifically, reward and punishment, as distributed at the general judgment. It is a strong argument for a state of retribution* hereafter, that in this world virtuous persons are very often unfortunate, and vicious persons prosperous. --Addison. Syn: Repayment; requital; recompense; payment; retaliation.