Get Back
Also from my Dad, years ago:
I learned today that the word "retaliation" equates more with "vengeance" whereas "retribution" equates more with "justice" — I had thought "retaliation" and "retribution" meant the same1.
Here are facts:
re·ta·li·a·tion [re-tal-ee-AY-shun]
Origin: 1575–85; retaliate (again, of a similar kind) + -ion (an instance of this)
noun
the act of retaliating; return of like for like; reprisal.
And:
re·tri·bu·tion [re-trih-BYOO-shun]
Origin: 1350-1400; retribūt (restore, give back) + -ion (an instance of this)
noun
- requital according to merits or deserts, especially for evil.
- something given or inflicted in such requital.
- Theology: the distribution of rewards and punishments in a future life.
Me again: This is a fascinating nuance. If asked to explain it, I would've said "retaliation" was more immediate, "retribution" more intense. But that otherwise they were basically interchangeable.
1 Unusually, he didn't say which definition he thought they shared. (It was probably the first one, same as me.)