Retribution definition: paying back a wrong

Retribution definition, piece by piece

If you define retribution carefully, it is a response to wrongdoing that hurts or costs the wrongdoer, given because they are thought to deserve it. Three ideas usually come together:

1. A wrong came first. Retribution is always a reaction.
2. The response is a penalty. It takes something away: freedom, money, comfort or safety.
3. It is seen as deserved. The point is paying back, not just preventing future harm.

When the payback is carried out by an army or group, news writers may call it a retaliation or reprisal. When people believe it comes from God, fate or the universe, it is called divine retribution.

Retribution in example sentences

• The villagers feared retribution if they reported the gang to the police.
• Many readers saw the villain's downfall at the end of the novel as fitting retribution.
• Some people want harsh retribution for crimes against children; others focus on prevention.
• The army promised swift retribution after the attack on its base.
• Fans saw the striker's red card as retribution for the dive he faked earlier.

Retribution, revenge and justice: the differences

Retribution can be lawful and measured; revenge usually is not. Still, the line is debated, and some writers use the words loosely. For the wider idea of fairness behind punishment, see justice; for the feelings that can drive payback, see resentment and grievance.

Retributive justice in law

In criminal law and philosophy, retributive justice is the view that people who commit crimes should be punished because they deserve it, and that the punishment should be in proportion to the crime. A small theft should not bring a life sentence; a serious violent crime should not end with a small fine.

It is one of several aims that courts weigh. Others include deterrence (discouraging future crime), rehabilitation (helping the offender change), incapacitation (protecting the public) and restorative justice (repairing harm, often by bringing victim and offender together). Courts around the world, Indian and American ones included, mix these aims in different ways, and people disagree about how much weight retribution should get.

Divine retribution in religion

Many religious traditions teach that wrongdoing has consequences beyond human courts. In parts of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian scriptures, God is described as judging nations and people for injustice. Ancient law codes, including passages in the Hebrew Bible, contain the principle often summed up as "an eye for an eye"; many scholars read it as a rule that punishment should not go beyond the harm done. Islamic teaching describes a Day of Judgement when deeds are weighed.

Hindu and Buddhist ideas of karma are sometimes loosely called retribution, but karma is better described as the law of cause and effect for actions, good and bad, rather than punishment handed down by a judge. Many traditions also place strong weight on mercy, forgiveness and redemption alongside judgement.

From repayment to punishment: how the word changed

Latin retributio reached English, with a French accent along the way, in the late 1300s. The Latin verb retribuere joins re- (back) and tribuere (to assign, hand out), the same root as tribute and distribute. At first it meant any repayment, for good or for evil, so a reward could be a retribution. Over time the sense narrowed to punishment, and that is almost the only meaning today. More words on judgement and belief are gathered in faith and belief.